Red Roses won’t pay struggling Samoans
ENGLAND’S players decided not to donate a slice of their match fees from Saturday’s clash with Samoa to the impoverished islanders, due to fears that such a gesture could raise doubts about their sporting integrity.
The final fixture of England’s autumn campaign looms as a clash of the haves and have-nots. The hosts will earn £22,000-a-man and are the best-paid Test players in the world. In contrast, the Samoans receive £650 for each appearance and their union is on the brink of bankruptcy. The problem is so acute that a fund-raising website is currently seeking to generate emergency funds.
Two of England’s leading Polynesian stars — Manu Tuilagi and Mako Vunipola — had suggested that the Red Rose squad should consider giving a small cut of their match fees to the visitors, but after careful discussion, that idea has been rejected. Misgivings were expressed about sporting ethics being compromised, by the prospect of a payment to current and future rivals.
‘We’ve met as a senior player group and discussed the issue with the squad,’ said veteran prop Dan Cole yesterday. ‘Our concern is over the ethics of paying an opposition to play against you and the future issues it might create in regards to, not so much opposition asking for pay but the potential for it to look like, “We’ve paid you before, now you owe us a favour”. It’s above our station as players.’
None of this was said lightly. Cole is alert to the bigger picture; of Samoa and the other island teams operating against a backdrop of regular financial turmoil. He and his team-mates are also aware of their status as the best-paid players in the world.
Asked if that status was a cause of resentment from rivals, Cole said: ‘There’s probably some form of… not resentment, but envy at what we get paid and the facilities we have. You would feel that way if other nations had that.
‘When you hear about some of the struggles other nations have, and then we have these facilities, I can see why everyone else would want that.
‘At post-match functions, you don’t discuss finances; you talk about the game. It’s similar at the club (Leicester). We have a lot of Tongans and a few Samoan boys. They might say, “You’re well paid”, and fortunately we are. But it’s not said in a bitter way.
‘The issues are not player-to-player. The issue is with the unions and World Rugby. I would love for other nations to get paid what we get paid. Speaking to players at the club, there’s no resentment towards me being an England player, it’s more at union level.’
Cole also acknowledged the importance of supporting the island sides and others without the resources of the upper elite. ‘You want a strong global game with as many strong sides playing rugby as possible,’ he added. ‘You don’t want just two or three super-powers playing; that will eventually harm the game.’