After 25 years of professionalism, more big decisions are on horizon
TWENTY-FIVE years on from the deed seems as good a time as any to ponder how rugby and professionalism have got along since that fateful meeting in Paris which called a halt to an already wrecked ethos that the game could somehow remain amateur.
In fairness, those members of the then International Rugby Board knew the pretence had to end and that to simply avoid being overwhelmed by events they, albeit reluctantly, signed off on the new deal.
The implications for the game have been huge and, well, complex.
There has been much fanfare from Bill Beaumont, chairman of World Rugby, the now re-badged successor to the IRB, about the game’s global growth and all the tweaks which have taken place to ensure greater player welfare, and, crucially, a more watchable sport for the all-important life-blood of supporters and TV companies.
Mind you, Covid-19 is exacting more than its pound of flesh, though quite what overall impact the pandemic has going forward is still unclear regarding rugby’s pressing need for stability and security.
Professionalism has been good, though, and has driven standards in an upward direction. The European Champions Cup is a case in point and, though not without its rocky moments, has become a flag-bearer for clubs, some of whom also have notions of still challenging Test rugby’s place at the game’s summit and squeezing the traditional but hugely successful British and Irish Lions out of existence.
And global stars have blossomed — Jonah Lomu, Brian O’driscoll, Jonny Wilkinson, Richie Mccaw, Bryan Habana and Dan Carter have all readily boosted the brand — though having just the one World Cup brought this side of the equator when Martin Johnson lifted it high in 2003 badly needs bettering.
Perhaps rather surprisingly given the rearguard action fought against professionalism here, the game in Ireland has broken new ground to punch well above its weight, though, again, World Cup success for the national side has proved frustratingly elusive.
Yet despite what rugby’s governing body would have us believe, there has been a flip side.
The game has become much more skilful but has also greatly increased its physical brutality, with concussions and other assorted injuries causing concerns regarding many players whose bodies have shipped far too much damage.
And there is that notion that rugby at the very top end is still an exclusive club through the consistent denial of an entry point for the likes of Georgia into the Six Nations, while the south sea island nations of Fiji, Samoa and Tonga look ever distant from rugby’s market forces and appear to be a mere a conveyor belt for other nations to benefit.
Even mighty South Africa can tell a tale here thanks to the game’s economics tempting their top players towards the riches available in France and England, while Super Rugby’s gaze looks to have no place for the rainbow nation.
Meanwhile, there is new money circling the game. Though it is not clear how private equity firm CVC — who are involved in the English Premiership, Guinness PRO14 and Six Nations — and World Rugby will manage to co-exist, needless to say that, in the end, the money will doubtless dictate decisions and direction.
Back in 1995, the governing body knew they had to move with the times or perish as a credible force. Twenty-five years on and, interestingly, the same outcome is still a visible prospect.
That’s professionalism for you. Still, here’s to the next 25 years.