Latest crackdown is grave threat to the elite game

As the Government prepare a new round of restrictions, it looks as if rugby as we know it is being put on the back burner until virtually the 21/22 season. The new restrictions are a long lockdown in all but name reducing the possibility of crowds gathering to watch entertainment or any sport in the foreseeable future, and may even potentially put the Lions tour in doubt for its current dates.

Although the effects of lockdown are bad enough for our community game, the impact on the elite professional and international game is devastating. The thought seems to be, although games are not taking place at grassroot level, it is still possible for the clubs to garner some money by using the bar and club and, as the number of employees is quite low, the losses may not create a long term problem.

That’s not to say that the grassroots are not suffering as as result of restrictions because they are, they need games just as much as the Premiership and probably even more.

Fortunately grassroots clubs usually form a strong bond with the community they are a part of and, unlike the professional clubs, are not reliant on a weekly flood of fans to fund their survival.

Also unlike the professional game, where everyone is paid for the job they do, grassroots clubs are run for the love of the game and players turn up weekly just for the pleasure of playing and socialising.

Under the current restrictions there are no games, ergo there are no players and no socialising, which means no revenue and although they don’t need as much money to survive as the Premiership, they do need some.

The Premiership has restarted although without the usual approximately 80,000 paying fans each week, but they have the money from their TV, CVC and RFU contracts to help support them. Some people may think that’s enough, but it’s not.

Although there is a salary cap, with all but one club – Exeter – unable to make a profit during normal times, the impact of the new restrictions will be magnified for all clubs as they try and balance their books. A whole season without customers is a disaster for any business but for those already struggling it could mean the end – and that poses the question: can the professional game survive?

For all clubs, any chance of relying on the usual levels of funding from the RFU would seem more than a distant hope.

With the new restriction forcing RFU CEO Bill Sweeney into asking the government for some relief funding, it will probably mean the Premiership will have to take an even lower settlement for player release, at least for the short-term (maybe for a season or two), when they finally renegotiate terms for the next portion of the 2016 agreement.

“Grassroots clubs are not reliant on a weekly flood of fans to fund their survival”