Up & under

French giants are on a different level financially from Warriors... and there seems little chance of that changing

After edinburgh started the New Year on c l oud nine with their 1872 Cup victory, and with a vital european triple-header coming into view for Glasgow, SRU chief executive Mark Dodson picked an odd ti me to kill a buoyant and focused mood.

He claimed that, due to the widening financial gap between the Scottish teams and their french and english counterparts, it may be time for a structural rethink in three years’ time.

Dodson believes there could come a time when Glasgow and edinburgh simply cannot compete on the highest european stage.

If they were to lose twice over the next three weeks, it would be the 18th occasion the Warriors have failed to make the european Cup knockout stage.

edinburgh have had fleeting glimpses of quarter-final action over the years but, as of yet, the Warriors have failed to make much of an impression.

And with many french and english clubs flush with cash as the Celtic teams struggle, perhaps Dodson’s potential bold new plan will be far too late come 2019.

Here, Sportsmail takes a look at some of the factors which keep the Scottish teams in the continental doldrums.

THE TV MONEY

tHe best way to fund success is to milk the television cash-cow. the figures in rugby are nowhere near fo o t bal l ’ s english Premier League’s eye-watering £5billion levels, but there is still a big gulf.

It also proves that the financial boat, overflowing with glittering treasures, may have sailed two years ago.

Currently, the Guinness Pro12 is joint-broadcast on Sky Sports and other regional channels. the total value of the deal is £10million per year and runs out in 2019.

Sky pay most of it, contributing £5.5m, with BBC Wales forking out £3.2m, the Irish channels £900,000 and BBC Scotland (Alba) bringing up the rear with a mere £140,000.

A decent earner for the clubs it may be but, when you compare it to the deals in england and france, you soon realise the true size of the gaping chasm.

Bt Sport started their new deal to show the Aviva Premiership this season. It’s a six-year contract that lasts until 2021 and keeps Premier rugby flush with a hefty £46m per year, that’s around an 80-per-cent increase on the previous package.

But, unsurprisingly, it is france that takes the crown, Canal+ shelling out a whopping £60m per year from 2015 until 2019.

So, while t he Pro12 were counting their pennies, the other big leagues were laughing their way to the bank when signing up to big deals in 2014.

Naturally, too, it is a circle — lack of star names, poorer product, lack of coverage, the spiral the Pro12 finds hard to escape.

SALARY CAPS

IN Both england and france, the salary cap is a thorny issue. the french cap is set at €10m (£7.35m) and the english currently at £5m — although it is set to rise to £7m by 2017, with two players allowed to be exempt from the cap as so-called ‘marquee signings’.

Many are suspicious that despite t hese seemingly being high enough, the richest clubs abuse the system. Certainly in france it is harshly policed, with Grenoble, Bourgoin and Montauban all relegated for financial malpractice in the last decade.

A swathe of smaller Premiership clubs cannot afford to spend up to the cap and the gap, with Saracens, Bath and Wasps the financial heavyweights, will only widen when the english cap rises in order to help compete with the french in the Champions Cup.

Most, if not all, Pro12 clubs can only dream of spending £7m a year on the playing staff — in fact the Welsh clubs have a self-imposed cap for £4.5m and, while the Scots, Irish and Italians have no cap, it is believed Glasgow and edinburgh spend around £4.3m each on their teams.

So when the best Southern Hemisphere talent is available, they rarely take the Celtic route — and the best of the homegrown players get tempted south, David Denton on £300,000 per year at Bath being a prime example.

Would it close the gap if Glasgow or edinburgh found their own Mourad Boudjellal, the eccentric billionaire who owns toulon and has bankrolled their treble of european Cups?

Well, no. Seeing as the top14 clubs — and Premiership ones for that matter — are independent businesses, this is a viable option for them.

But the Scottish clubs are run by the SRU, so a sudden wave of cash to one club would not make much difference. the current structure is not built for expensive imports before you even think of the total unlikelihood Dan Carter opting for Scotstoun over Paris.

DWINDLING INFLUENCE

Another aspect of the game that pushed the chips towards france and england was the renegotiation of the european tournament structure, which essentially formed the european Champions Cup last season.

With that, the Pro12 teams lost significant bargaining power and got a massively-reduced share of the pot.

for Scotland, it has meant only one team dining at the top table instead of two — something that will only change if both clubs finish in the top six of the league.

It may be premature, but it could be said that the Irish provinces, particularly Leinster and Munster, so dominant in the noughties, are quickly feeling the effects of this new tournament, both effectively out before January.

REASONS TO BE POSITIVE?

It IS not all doom and gloom, of course. As with most things, this l ack of success, money and influence is a perpetual cycle, but it can be broken this season. Glasgow might not know it, but their performances in the next t hree weeks are pivotal f or Scottish rugby as a whole.

Qualification is in their hands and they can do it, with racing 92 notorious for switching off and Northampton also not on top form.

Get through and it’s one- off games, knockout rugby, and a chance to prove there’s still life in the Pro12 product — to fans, to broadcasters and to talented overseas players.

And the monstrous Australian taqele Naiyaravoro could be the catalyst for the latter. If he keeps on setting it alight, Glasgow will suddenly become a f ar more attractive proposition for any incoming talent.

Australian Dean Mumm’s move and subsequent brilliance at exeter Chiefs is testament to that. tana Umaga did something similar for toulon in 2006; one star invariably brings more with it.

If Glasgow were to beat their european demons, it would be a remarkable achievement knowing the Grand Canyon- sized gap to traverse.

the future of Scottish rugby may well rest on their shoulders — how heavy will the burden weigh?