Are Elinor Snowsill’s hopes justified?
Elinor Snowsill has become the latest prominent figure in women’s rugby to hope for a non-England based club (here, Welsh) to take part in the PWR*.
At the risk of appearing jingoistic, I maintain my view that that is quite unjustifiable.
Her case is made more improbable by today’s announcement of a new global calendar for the men’s and women’s game. Great emphasis is laid on the need for control of what World Rugby terms ‘Player Load’.
Let’s assume for a moment that her wish comes to pass. In Wales’ case it means an artificially created squad will be formed and take the place of an English club.
The only way that would not happen is if the league was extended beyond its present ten clubs. I see that as totally detrimental. The current season has been distorted by the World Cup appearing in October-November, but previously it has lasted from September to June. Add in pre-season, and the two ends of the piece of string almost meet. With only one extra club added, you’re close to a non-stop whirligig of rugby. At once that conflicts with that issue of Player Load.
If the 10-club system is retained – as seems all too likely – which English club will say ‘please take our place’ and close its doors? Bristol Bears?
In its initial statement the new PWR repeated the RFU’s commitment to give preferential treatment to English players. We have still to see the effect of the promised limit on NEQPs (Non-England Qualified Players) and the consequences of any club ignoring it. Unspecified penalties have been mentioned, but an underlying issue is the lack of money throughout the game of rugby. How many of the clubs could afford a penalty, however modest?
It’s a tricky case of selfishness versus altruism. What is best for the game as a whole?
Is it England’s role to assist its closest neighbours in every way it can, or to encourage them to follow a similar path, building stronger clubs with better coaching and support facilities, and with a meaningful competition?
As things stand, most of Wales’ current squad in New Zealand play for PWR clubs. Among those who don’t are the poor souls who played for Worcester Warriors. And there lies a central issue: the foundations of English rugby lie on shifting sands. We have only to glance at the fate of the men’s clubs that have folded, and the combined debt of the surviving clubs – calculated at many millions – to see the precarious nature of the operation.
For the women’s game the position is even more uncertain. They too are dependent on either a benevolent billionaire or a wealthy company whose assets may alter its attitude overnight. Just consider Cube International’s withdrawal of funding from the Warriors, and you see the risks involved. From the start of the old Premier 15s the RFU did not undertake to support clubs that got into financial difficulties.
Can English rugby afford to be so generous towards other unions when its own pockets have holes in?
When Snowsill claims a higher standard of play in the PWR than in some 6N matches, she may have a point, but the general view is that standards are rising visibly across the international tournament. The advent of contracts (mostly part-time) is narrowing the gaps that have been evident from the start.
Who would play in the club Snowsill advocates? Either it is the very best players Cymru can provide, that is the national squad, or it would be an odd assortment of players, whose selection would cause a sense of unfairness or favouritism. To have an international side added to a club league is surely a nonsense.
And then, only Wales? Scotland borders England too, and its squad currently in South Africa also contains a large number of players attached to English clubs. Are they to be disadvantaged in favour of Cymru?
If we accept that the WRU is unable to subsidise a semi-pro league, then the same is true of the SRU.
Nor should we forget the Irish, who are in an almost identical position – except that they have to cross the sea to reach an English club.
* Elinor Snowsill was appearing in Scrum V on 22 October (@BBCScrumV)
