0
![Not allowed!](images/buttons/down_dis.png)
![Not allowed!](images/buttons/up_dis.png)
Bret Harris From: The Australian April 27, 2011 12:00AM
IT sounds crazy, but this may be the last year an Australian team wins the Super Rugby title.
The competition is contested by 15 teams from three countries - South Africa, New Zealand and Australia - collectively known as SANZAR.
From next year, the ARU will unilaterally introduce a salary cap, which will place the five Australian teams at a distinct competitive disadvantage to their rivals in New Zealand and South Africa.
While the ARU's intention is to save money on top-ups for Wallabies, the salary cap will spread the talent across the five Australian teams - Brumbies, Melbourne Rebels, NSW Waratahs, Queensland Reds and Western Force.
This should have the effect of making the Australian teams more competitive against each other, but it will make them less competitive against the 10 New Zealand and South African sides, which do not operate under a salary cap, although the Kiwis do have a draft system.
The absence of a powerful Australian Super Rugby franchise could have dire consequences for the Wallabies. Australia coach Robbie Deans, who coached the Crusaders to five titles, always talks about the need for an Australian team, or teams, to be competing in the playoffs.
The All Blacks and Springboks have certainly drawn strength from champion teams such as the Crusaders and Bulls. It is no coincidence that only four teams - the Blues, Brumbies, Bulls and Crusaders - have won the first 15 Super Rugby titles between them.
Compare this to rugby union's main footballing rivals, AFL and rugby league.
Since the VFL-AFL introduced a salary cap in 1985, 11 teams - Essendon, Hawthorn, Carlton, Collingwood, West Coast, North Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane Lions, Port Adelaide, Sydney and Geelong - have won 25 premierships between them.
Rugby league introduced a salary cap in 1990 and 10 teams - Canberra, Penrith, Brisbane, Melbourne, Newcastle, Sydney Roosters, Canterbury, Wests Tigers, Manly and St George Illawarra - have shared the premierships in the space of 20 years.
There was no salary cap during the Super League war of 1997 and the Melbourne Storm was stripped of its two NRL premierships (2007 and 2009) for salary cap breaches.
The Brumbies are the only Australian team to win the Super Rugby title, lifting the trophy in 2001 and 2004. Those Brumbies teams were stacked with Wallabies greats, including George Gregan, Stephen Larkham, Joe Roff and George Smith.
Players did not gravitate to Canberra for the money necessarily but for the chance to improve their game and selection for the Wallabies. It was a different system altogether.
The Australian teams had a gentlemen's agreement that they would not pay players more than $110,000 plus expenses. The best players earnt most of their money from their ARU top-up.
The new salary cap system turns that on its head.
The teams can now pay whatever they like to individual players from their ARU grants of $4.4m, but cannot exceed the total amount on their whole squad, which is effectively the salary cap.
You can already see the spreading of talent begin with star Wallabies back Kurtley Beale leaving the Waratahs next year for the Rebels, who will become an anomalous team in an anomalous player payment system.
As a recruitment concession, the Rebels are allowed 10 foreign players (they only have eight this year), who are valued at only $147,000 under the salary cap, which gives them a real competitive advantage in the market.
But the Rebels will have to reduce their foreign quota to two players like the other Australian teams by 2016 when they will be on a level playing field.
The double whammy for the Australian teams is that the only Super Rugby conference operating under a salary cap will be the one which lacks the most depth of talent.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news...-1226045237355
Last edited by travelling_gerry; 27-04-11 at 01:55.
What a fantastic initiative.
We are battling to retain star players from the financial lure of the North, we are the fourth (or worse) most popular winter sport around the country and we have had minimal success at Provincial and Test level in several years.
What a master stroke to pay our stars less, make the product less successful/appealing and drop our revenue base on the back of diminished crowds and sponsorships.
Bravo ARU, bravo!!!
F*cking arse clowns![]()
"Bloody oath we did!"
Nathan Sharpe, Legend.
I'm sure we all agree with you Zimeric
I really dislike john o'neil
Chuck Norris has the greatest Poker-Face of all time. He won the 1983 World Series of Poker, despite holding only a Joker, a Get out of Jail Free Monopoly card, a 2 of clubs, 7 of spades and a green #4 card from the game Uno.
Get over it Chicken Little, the Wallabies have always been selected from fairly evenly spread talent, so the effect that Bret Harris is discussing won't be the problem, the problem will be related to the reduction in overall funding made available for salary. That might push players OS and that would be bad unless there is a commensurate agreement to select Wallabies from OS teams.
C'mon the![]()
![]()
What's Bret saying: "...the need for an Australian team, or teams, to be competing in the playoffs."?
We're guaranteed one team anyway, and I'd say that if we've got a strong conference rather than two 'good' teams we'd get more experience of top class games and so more likely to win the foreign matches. That should give us one of the wild cards, so two teams in the play-offs.
I'm not convinced that a salary cap is the best way to build a strong team - it'll need the cap to be generous enough not to hamstring the clubs into, eg, having a strong XV but no bench, but not too big to allow the generation of a galacticos club, or bankrupt the ARU.
Surely they'll have done their homework by researching how salary caps are handled round the world?
This shouldn't affect the star players because, if I'm reading it right, the Wallaby top-ups would actually increase under the new system. What does worry me is that this could create a system of "haves" and "have nots" where players that miss out just decide to head overseas. For instance, I'm guessing Nathan Sharpe could have lost out pretty badly if they hadn't sorted out his contract.
but isn't that a bit like "everyone gets a trophy day?" .. we should be earning the play off position because we are the best out there - not because we're guarenteed a spot regardless .. just seems to me that aust rugby to a certain point is just making up the numbers. Apart from the REDs - no aust team would make the finals on their own merit against the rest of the teams (if we had no conference system) .. I fear that with this system in place then REDS will fail. The Wallabies won't feel it as much because they can pick the best from the entire country - the super teams in aust will feel it because they can't!
Chuck Norris has the greatest Poker-Face of all time. He won the 1983 World Series of Poker, despite holding only a Joker, a Get out of Jail Free Monopoly card, a 2 of clubs, 7 of spades and a green #4 card from the game Uno.
Big changes always have very big unexpected effects. Now I am a big fan of David Pocock, but in an extended competition do you go for two under the radar toilers like Matt Hodgson or Beau Robinson or one superstar? Pocock has missed half of this season and missed half of last season. In the new system would he be worth the money?
Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast.
Certainly will in Europe.
There will be a handfull on the big bucks (generally the inside backs like JO'C, Cooper, Beale et al) but the bulk of the star players (ie fan favourites aren't always Wallabies for many reasons) will be getting less to cover the overspend.
These are the players that get bums on seats by making the pretty boys look good.
Players like Faingaa x 2, Shepherd, Robinson, Hoiles and Kingi will be well out of pocket compared to potential earnings under the current and certainly compared to potential NH contracts.
"Bloody oath we did!"
Nathan Sharpe, Legend.
ive done the sums and 4.4mil is a fair whack of cash
take the Force for example... i have no idea exactly what everyone is being paid so ive stuck my finger out and guessed based on Marquee signings, current wallabies and perceived value and lastly game time.
i get this:
Paul Alo-Emile 50000.00
Matt Brandon 30000.00
Mark Bartholomeusz 80000.00
Phoenix Battye 50000.00
Richard Brown 200000.00
Nathan Charles 100000.00
Pekahou Cowan 100000.00
Nick Cummins 120000.00
Patrick Dellit 60000.00
Matt Dunning 100000.00
Gene Fairbanks 100000.00
Tim Fairbrother 120000.00
Tom Hockings 80000.00
Matt Hodgson 150000.00
Mitch Inman 100000.00
Jono Jenkins 80000.00
Alfie Mafi 100000.00
Kieran Longbottom 80000.00
BenMc Calman 250000.00
Tevita Metuisela 60000.00
James O'Connor 500000.00
David Pocock 400000.00
Willie Ripia 250000.00
Brian Sefanaia 50000.00
Nathan Sharpe 250000.00
Brett Sheehan 200000.00
Cameron Shepherd 200000.00
Rory Sidey 80000.00
Siliva Siliva 50000.00
David Smith 150000.00
James Stannard 90000.00
Mark Swanepoel 60000.00
Justin Turner 60000.00
Ben Whittaker 80000.00
Sam Wykes 100000.00
total 4020000.00
to spare: 380000.00
PS dont criticise my values.. they are likely very different to the above but I believe i have them fairly close.
dude... just 150k would be fine...