Clubs Do Have A Contract, But So Did Their Players

A front row view of the game

- Jeff Probyn

What is it about a disaster that makes people think of change and accept things that they would normally dismiss out of hand? The acceptance of CVC’s £70m fora share in the Six Nations should be seen as a mixed blessing, giving large cash injections to all six unions at a time when the losses for all as a result of the continuing lockdown and social distancing seem unending, but with an unknown cost to the game.

The money is set to be divided on a sliding scale depending on the size of each union, with England and France getting the most. It looks as if the other unions have all accepted a reduced amount, with Italy probably getting the least even though it has more players than Wales or Scotland.

Selling a share in the crown jewels of rugby would probably not have been countenanced had it not been for the virus, but the need to fund the professional game in all unions is all-consuming with principals and tradition thrown out the window.

It is probable that a certain number of the ‘bigger’ Six Nations games will, with CVC’s influence, now be sold to pay-to-view television to increase profits, despite the reduced exposure of a smaller audience.

The irony of this situation is for those of us who remember the first time the offer of pay-to-view was made back in 1996, that had it been accepted then the unions probably would not have been in the destitute desperate situation they are now and may not have needed CVC’s intervention.