Bristol’s director of rugby, Pat Lam, says the Premiership’s status as a globally attractive league is under threat if ambitious clubs continue to lose their biggest names and action is not taken to eradicate the geographical inequalities hindering the development of young English players.
Lam, whose side face a must-win game at home to Sale Sharks on Friday if they are to stay in a congested playoff race, believes the reduced Premiership salary cap of £5m risks undermining the league’s long-term appeal. He is also calling for a nationwide draft system to be introduced to improve the talent available to the England team.
The Bears will shortly bid farewell to their backs Semi Radradra and Charles Piutau and Lam insists the salary cap needs to rise to bolster the standard of the league, despite the fragile financial state of many clubs. “You’re killing the reputation of the Premiership,” he said.
“I know people say it’s not fair [for some clubs] but we’re keeping everything down at the expense of the quality of the competition. I believe English players shouldn’t be selected from overseas, but if the salary cap is £5m then players will leave. You can’t have it both ways.
“For English rugby to be sustainable and marketable you can’t be seen as the fourth-best competition. You aim to be the first. I believe the Premiership had that at one stage. But if the England team is not winning and English clubs aren’t at the forefront of European competition it’s very difficult to say your competition is one of the best.
The back-rower Bryonie King is set to make her Wales debut from the bench against England in the Women's Six Nations on Saturday.
The 19-year-old Bristol forward joins a Wales side who have beaten Ireland and Scotland in their two fixtures thus far but face a steeper challenge against England.
Hannah Jones will captain the side, Lowri Norkett replaces Carys Wiliams-Morris on the wing and Hannah Bluck starts at centre in the absence of the injured Kerin Lake.
“England are coming to town and there is no bigger test. The Red Roses set the benchmark for all of us, and that’s why we are relishing the task ahead of us,” said head coach Ioan Cunningham. “We are excited by the challenge and the Welsh rugby public have shown they are too with a historic sell-out crowd at the Arms Park." Guardian sport
Starting XV: 15 Courtney Keight (Bristol) 14 Lisa Neumann (Gloucester Hartpury) 13 Hannah Jones (Gloucester Hartpury, capt) 12 Hannah Bluck (Worcester) 11 Lowri Norkett (Worcester) 10 Elinor Snowsill (Bristol) 9 Keira Bevan (Bristol); 1 Gwenllian Pyrs (Bristol) 2 Kelsey Jones (Gloucester Hartpury) 3 Sisilia Tuipulotu (Gloucester Hartpury) 4 Abbie Fleming (Exeter) 5 Georgia Evans (Saracens) 6 Bethan Lewis (Gloucester Hartpury) 7 Alex Callender (Worcester) 8 Sioned Harries (Worcester) Replacements 16 Carys Phillips (Worcester) 17 Cara Hope (Gloucester Hartpury) 18 Cerys Hale (Gloucester Hartpury) 19 Natalia John (Worcester) 20 Kate Williams (Gloucester Hartpury) 21 Bryonie King (Bristol) Uncapped 22 Ffion Lewis (Worcester) 23 Robyn Wilkins (Exeter)
“Bringing in some of the stars we have has helped to make the Premiership strong. It’s still a very good competition, but it’s very difficult to claim to be the best when you’ve got some of your best players leaving.
“People underestimate the impact of the salary cap coming down. We want to keep players, they want to stay, we have the money to pay them, but the system stops us doing it.”
On the subject of younger players, Lam believes the existing system of academy boundaries significantly favours certain clubs, mostly in the south-east, to the detriment of English rugby.
“The academy boundary system we have is crazy. We’re the only country in the world that has it. If you look at the top 100 schools in the country, I think Harlequins have got 22, London Irish have 16 and Saracens have 14. We have two and Exeter has one. At the moment, it’s a massively uneven playing field.
“You can’t survive on a £5m cap and have the boundary system you have. If you want to keep it at £5m you’ve got to open up those boundaries.
“The second idea is that everyone picks five players from within their boundaries and then there’s a draft. Then it’s pretty much guaranteed the top 100 18-year-olds will go into Premiership teams every year.
“Some guys are missing out on genuine opportunities because they’re not in the right area. It’s a late development sport. You can’t tell if a 17-year-old is going to make it. It’s not like football.”
The topic is among many issues being negotiated as part of the new Professional Game Agreement, with the Premiership’s directors of rugby having held a virtual meeting on Thursday to debate the best way forward. Lam has found this season to be among the most challenging he has experienced but is still hopeful three wins in their final three games could yet propel the Bears into the top four.
“We’re under no illusions,” said Lam, whose scrum-half, Harry Randall, will co-captain the side on his 100th club appearance. “Sale are in second place and the points are important for us. The No 1 thing we’ve got to bring is physicality. But it’s set up nicely for whoever is brave enough and confident enough to play their game.”
