posted May 15, 2008

Thanks to all of you that have contributed on the thread its nice to see sensible postings for a change.

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posted May 15, 2008

CRICKET!!! I'd forgotten it was on. (Turns Radio 4 off.)

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posted May 15, 2008

Drizzling (turns Radio 4 back on.) Bright sunshine here.

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posted May 15, 2008

It is typical of the blazers in the RFU to stir up trouble, just when we had thought everything was settled.

I believe the players involved will be losing money from their club contracts as a result of playing for England as the number of games they can play is in MJ's hands.

The offer of £65K + performance bonuses for half a years work for a top sportsman is derisory at best. I bet the idiot that thought this one up was the same one that imposed the £5 per day expenses limit on the Lions some years ago.

Most of these guys would play for nothing, but it is a professional game and the money paid for their services has to reflect the value of their worth. At around £4.5M per game, about £30M per year, for the home matches at Twickenham, plus t.v. rights, the £0.25 wages it currently costs per game is incredible value to the RFU.

I wonder what Francis Barron draws out in salary and bonuses.

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posted May 15, 2008

WPINo8

exactly. My thoughts to a tee. It appears that a legacy of pseudo-amateurism still pervades the corridors at the RFU. It's acceptable for that useless, unproductive parasite R Andrew to claim 400K pa but obviously immoral for players to take maximum from their skills. Speccies come to watch the players not the RFU mgt.

The power rests with the players in this. I would go on strike until a satisfactory solution is sorted. A player's career is short lived.

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posted May 15, 2008

I'm not saying I agree or disagree with this pay review - on the one hand the players deserve to get paid for putting their bodies on the line but on the other hand if it motivates better results all to the good - but wouldn't it make everyone concerned view this in a more positive light if the management put their own money where their mouth is and take an identical review themselves?

I know it wouldn't make any difference how the players perform but it might make the suits in seats look less self-serving.

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posted May 15, 2008

If any player needs performance related pay then he should not be on the team - Imagine I am about to put my body on the line with a last minute match saving tackle - do i think hang on if we win i only get an extra 10k oh sod it i'll let him score! It can be worse of course - do I have a go at our kicker who missed the last minute penalty because he cost me 10k - Come on! They need paying well because like any sport the career is a short one - but if they need extra money to play extra well they are in the wrong game.

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posted May 15, 2008

wellpastit - well said. They do it now ??
You have a disastrous run over an extended period, you bang on about new dawn's and new beginings.You then have another disastrous run culminating in a really crappy 6N after which the coach suffers the sacking by RFU 's death of a thousand cuts until it becomes final.
Another new dawn for England ....and then this comes along. Whatever the rights and wrongs of why it's paid etc ,the timing hardly inspires confidence .

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posted May 15, 2008

Perhaps the RFU stuffed shirts should all be put on performance related pay also. They would end up paying to do their "jobs".

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posted May 16, 2008

Francis Baron’s argument in favour of performance related pay is that the RFU’s England management team are all on performance related pay………So I assume they all missed out on their bonuses after the indifferent 6N campaign and the disgraceful handling of the Brian Ashton situation then? England rugby has been down this road before and the players’ side of things was exactly the same then as it is now. The RFU backed down the last time they tried this stunt, though they still put out a very disingenuous press release along the lines of “The players didn’t understand all the facts” to save some face.

We start to get a bit of a feel good factor again after MJ’s appointment, and the belief that he will get the best out of all the young talent emerging for England and the RFU load the shotgun and point it at their feet. Here we go again!

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