May deal sends clubs into panic
JONNY MAY’S move from Gloucester to Leicester exploited a contractual loophole that threatens a huge transfer shake-up in rugby’s Premiership.
Sportsmail can reveal May, 27, became the first person to activate a clause in Premiership Rugby’s code of conduct which forced Gloucester to let him speak to other clubs.
The clause allows a player to leave a club at any time — no matter how long remains on his contract — providing a transfer fee equivalent to one year’s salary is paid by another Premiership club. It does not apply to transfers outside the country.
England stars have been briefed by their union about the loophole, while leading club owners are hurriedly seeking to shut down the clause which allowed May to make a dramatic switch to Leicester, despite having a year to run on his Gloucester deal.
The clause has existed for at least a decade, but this is the first time it has been activated.
There are grave fears among the elite clubs that there could be copy- cat moves prompted by May’s switch to the Tigers — in a deal which saw Leicester forward Ed Slater go the other way to join Gloucester.
The ramifications could be as far-reaching for rugby as the Bosman ruling was for football, with lengthy contracts no longer putting off talent-poachers.
May was made aware of the clause by his manager, Rob Burgess of James Grant Sports, who represents a number of leading players including England captain Dylan Hartley.
The chief executive of the Rugby Players’ Associations, Damian Hopley, held talks with England players on Monday at their train- ing camp in Teddington, where discussion of the issue was rife.
Premiership directors of rugby met in Northampton to address the subject two weeks ago, in the knowledge it could become divisive. The clause is regarded as a threat to less-affluent clubs who rely on developing talent and retaining it for as long as possible.
Gloucester boss David Humphreys subsequently briefed his squad that May had activated the clause. One well-placed source told
Sportsmail: ‘It’s fair to say 99 per cent of us had no knowledge of this clause and it has really put the cat among the pigeons, particularly for players who we have secured on long-term contracts believing them to be locked in.
‘To my knowledge this clause has never been used before by a player and you can be sure we’ll be trying to close it down as soon as possible.’
Premiership clubs are working to vote through a change to the code of conduct ‘within a matter of days’, according to one source.
However, any change would require a three-quarters majority among the leading clubs, but the players’ union — the RPA — are monitoring the situation.