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Much has been said about player poaching and with todays signing of Nathan Charles there are questions about who paid for what.
The reality is that the ARU paid for the development of Nathan Charles and just about every other Super 14 player running around Australia today.
Each "member union" is allocated a sum of money from the ARU budget for player and coach development. The "member unions" are the states as well as the Schoolboy's.
Some states develop more players and hense are allocated more money. Other states may get more money because of old term board room deals of the 80's and 90's.
So a bit like a car, a player may be developed or manufactured by a particular State but that player, like a car, is owned and driven by someone else.
So when people ask, "Who paid for Nathan Charles development?"
The answer is "ARU, but the Brumbies had him in their garage for a while and weren't using him."
Here is the 2009 receipt.