Money!

“Money is the root of all evil” – so it was in my amateur days in rugby union when, while claiming expenses following an England Trial game at Twickenham, I was rebuked for asking for two shillings and sixpence for the return travel fare between St.Helens and Lime Street Station, Liverpool. The fare, I was informed, was only one shilling and tenpence.A difference today of less than 5p!   After a game against Wales at the Arms Park on returning to the St.Helens RU club I was allowed one  free pint of ordinary bitter (Not Best!) after training on a Thursday night on the understanding that I told nobody.

Yes, what a difference today in the world of both rugby codes where professionalism has been acknowledged by the 15 a side variety and full time players are the order of the day in both League and Union.

In Union the allowance of professionalism at all levels of the game has sadly led to much heartbreak as many ambitious once local community clubs have struggled to cope with even limited expenses or cash handouts to players and, as a consequence, have ended up with financial problems or plummeted down the rankings. The “Sugar Daddies” who appear to control many of the premier French clubs have raided the English and Welsh clubs in particular and taken many of their best players across the Channel. A proper career pathway though, in both codes of rugby, has now been created for any aspiring youngster who wishes to try his hand at being a full time professional player. And the professional pathway between both games is now being trod in both directions as can be seen with players and coaches like Sam Burgess, Andy Farrell, Mike Ford, Jason Robinson crossing the once Great Divide.

In League in Great Britain surprisingly, in the light of almost a hundred years of hostility between professionalism and amateurism there are now two governing bodies – the Rugby Football League, which allows payments on a full time or part time basis, and the British Amateur Rugby League Association, which tolerates no professionalism among its many players. Rugby League now even uses a salary cap for each club in an effort to provide greater security for and better competition between its Super League and Championship clubs. And, seeing some of its best players like James Graham and Sam Tomkins heading Down Under to play with the far richer Aussie or New Zealand clubs, many of the 13 a side code’s clubs have been forced to urge the introduction of a separate wage structure for one or two marquee players.

All a far cry from the Sixties when, as a rugby league player, I could be banned from entering any rugby union clubhouse while being paid up to £25-00 for beating Wigan on a Saturday afternoon, earning £18-00 for teaching English five days a week, and coaching and managing rugby union at Cowley School for nothing.

Crazy!

Ray French (March 2015)