English to give £75k to Samoa

RUGBY THE English Rugby Football Union will make a goodwill payment of £75,000 to the Samoan Rugby Union after the association was declared bankrupt ahead of internationals against Scotland and England. Scotland are set to host the Pacific Islanders on Saturday before they face England at Twickenham on November 25. Samoa prime minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegao, who is also chairman of the SRU, said that the governing body was ‘insolvent’, with the union unable to ‘pay off our debts with the banks’ or fund player wages. Last year the RFU offered Fiji £75,000 as a ‘goodwill gesture’ ahead of the Test at Twickenham, with match revenues said to generate some £10million. It’s believed the RFU are set to make a similar payment to the Samoan Rugby Union, who wrote to their hosts detailing the issues of their dispute with global governing body World Rugby over on-going funding issues and their national administration. England players are said to be due match fees in the region of £22,000, while the Samoa squad would be only some £650. Currently there is no regulation for host nations to share matchday revenues. ÷NATWEST has been named as Six Nations title sponsors in a one-year agreement. The backing is for this season’s tournament — now named the NatWest 6 Nations — which begins when Wales face Scotland in Cardiff on February 3. The competition was known from 2003 to 2017 as the RBS 6 Nations. The sponsorship’s financial detail has not been disclosed. ‘We are delighted to be announcing NatWest as title sponsor of the NatWest 6 Nations, and the extension of our relationship with RBS,’ Six Nations chief executive John Feehan said, in a statement released by tournament organisers. ‘They have been excellent partners, and we know what an outstanding role they have played and will continue to play in the success of our championship. I am sure it will be a wonderful event in 2018 with NatWest on board. ‘They know how this great championship works, and there is no doubt that it is a very positive development for both us and for NatWest. We greatly look forward to it.’