Game must stop ripping itself apart
THE NAME of the code has become wildly inappropriate. Union is defined as ‘the state of being united’, but at the moment there is precious little unity in this version of rugby.
As if there wasn’t enough conflict occurring already, London Irish are considering legal action against Gloucester for poaching one of their coaches.
George Skivington has been lured to Kingsholm to take charge of an overhaul at the club following hasty departures by David Humphreys and Johan Ackermann.
According to the Exiles, former England Saxons lock Skivington (right)is under contract as their forwards coach until June next year and Gloucester have acted inappropriately.
Brian Facer, the Irish chief executive, said: ‘At no point have we received any proactive communication from Gloucester.
‘We therefore believe that Gloucester have breached the Premiership Rugby code conduct.
‘This is a most serious issue so, accordingly, we are reserving our rights to consider all our options under the Premiership Rugby governance protocols and other avenues of redress.’
In a retaliatory statement, Gloucester explained that they had ‘openly’ advertised the head coach role and their understanding was that Skivington was not contractually restricted from joining them.
They claim to have sought clarification from Irish, which was not forthcoming, and suggested that they were ‘surprised and disappointed’ by the
Exiles’ broadside. This unseemly squabble is the latest example of the sport’s chronic infighting habit.
Gloucester were already involved in one legal dispute after seeking to claim damages from Sale for signing Rohan Janse van Rensburg, despite the fact that the South African centre had already signed for them a few months earlier.
This period of tension and unrest has multiple dimensions.
It is club versus club. Clubs versus unions. Clubs versus players and their own unions. Pay cuts and scheduling rows and financial fears dominate the agenda.
When solidarity is needed more than ever, it has been trumped by self-interest. There has been regime change in Australia, hastened by mudslinging and vendettas. In Scotland, there has been uproar about inflated executive wages, while leading players have been allowed to leave because of a lack of spending power.
Last year, the Nations League concept was buried by the refusal of certain unions to think about the greater good and any expansion beyond their borders. More recently, the World Rugby chairman election played out against a backdrop of political horse-trading — and there are grave doubts about the integrity of the trumpeted governance review process.
Now hope is fading of a new, aligned global calendar. French clubs appear resolute in a refusal to budge from their established season slot and their Premiership counterparts are understood to be close behind them.
The window for change is closing. Rugby won’t seize the moment for vital reform while it is busy tearing itself apart. At this rate, it won’t be long before all that’s left to fight over is a heap of dust.