URC CEO MARTIN Anayi said the national unions whose teams make up the competition have never asked for the possibility of a salary cap to be explored.
Anayi explained that having teams from five different countries, which use different currencies and have different markets, means it would be extremely difficult in any case.
The French Top 14 operates with a salary cap of €10.7 million, the English Premiership has a salary cap of £6.4 million [just under €7.5 million], but the URC has no salary cap.
The issue has been raised again following Leinster’s announcement that they will sign All Blacks star Rieko Ioane next season, with his New Zealand team-mate Jordie Barrett currently impressing for the Irish province.
Leinster have re-signed Springboks star RG Snyman and veteran French tighthead Rabah Slimani ahead of next season, while they also have a large group of frontline Ireland internationals in their squad.
The fact that Leinster operate within an IRFU-run centralised system that includes national player contracts – 70% of which are currently paid from the IRFU’s budget, rather than Leinster’s – means it is difficult to accurately tally Leinster’s overall player budget in the same way a privately-owned French or English club can.
Leinster have strongly denied some of the wild guesses at their possible spend on players’ salaries in recent times, but that hasn’t stopped scrutiny from abroad and other parts of Ireland.
The URC is made up of four provinces from Ireland, four regions from Wales, two sides from Scotland, two Italian clubs, and four South African teams.
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That complicates matters and URC CEO Anayi said the unions behind the competition have never asked for the possible introduction of a salary cap to be explored.
URC CEO Martin Anayi. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
“No, they haven’t,” Anayi told The 42.
“It’s something we’ve talked about a lot at EPCR level – is there a salary cap system that might work? It’s so challenging though, for two main reasons.
“One, we’re in different territories, so how do you have a salary cap that’s adjusted for currency and how do you do that appropriately, certainly at times like now where there’s fluctuations in currencies, especially the [South African] Rand, that’s quite difficult.
“What it takes to bring Siya Kolisi to the Sharks on a Rand conversion, how do you equate that to a salary cap in France or England or Ireland?
“It’s very, very difficult and certainly no one has ever offered a solution to that.
“Secondly, how do you know when you’ve got union-owned clubs versus private clubs quite where the line and distinction is? I think that’s probably been the main challenge of trying to bring in a salary cap that would work.
“You could bring in a salary cap but would it work and be fair and equitable? Would it achieve the aims because part of the aims of salary caps are partly financial stability and part of it is sporting equity? And you’re not necessarily sure you get those things from a uniform salary cap.
“We haven’t been asked to do it but if we were asked to do it, it would be quite difficult.”
Despite the envious glances from elsewhere, Leinster have yet to win the URC in its current guise. They have been in three consecutive Champions Cup finals but haven’t got over the line in them. Their last trophy came in the PRO 14 in 2021.
Leinster's most recent trophy was the PRO 14 in 2021. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
So while they’re pace-setters and Anayi said it’s up to other URC teams to catch Leinster, he said there are no worries about an imbalance between sides in the competition.
“We are so proud of Leinster, to be honest,” said Anayi.
“To have arguably one of the best teams we’ve ever seen play club rugby… Franco Smith [the Glasgow coach] asked if they’re better than Ireland, so if someone like him is saying that, they’ve got to be pretty good.
“It’s for everybody else to catch up rather than to try and dumb that down in any shape or form. That’s the challenge that is being set. I don’t think any of our teams would ever suggest that Leinster need to get weaker. That’s maybe a narrative in other competitions, but certainly not in the URC.
“The challenge is can our teams beat Leinster regularly on a regular-season basis? So far, they haven’t been able to do that. They’ve not fared so well in South Africa but that’s largely due to congestion of fixtures post-Six Nations and the cadence of being in the business end of competitions like they are in. Until that recent loss in South Africa [to the Bulls], they went convincingly unbeaten. I think it’s for everyone else to rise to that challenge.
“Knock-out rugby is a different story. They haven’t won it in three years and that’s because there have been unbelievable results in the knock-outs, last-gasp drop goals, away wins by the Bulls, things like that.
“That’s why you have knock-out rugby. Anything can happen on the day.”
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URC chief says 'we haven't been asked to explore a salary cap'
URC CEO MARTIN Anayi said the national unions whose teams make up the competition have never asked for the possibility of a salary cap to be explored.
Anayi explained that having teams from five different countries, which use different currencies and have different markets, means it would be extremely difficult in any case.
The French Top 14 operates with a salary cap of €10.7 million, the English Premiership has a salary cap of £6.4 million [just under €7.5 million], but the URC has no salary cap.
The issue has been raised again following Leinster’s announcement that they will sign All Blacks star Rieko Ioane next season, with his New Zealand team-mate Jordie Barrett currently impressing for the Irish province.
Leinster have re-signed Springboks star RG Snyman and veteran French tighthead Rabah Slimani ahead of next season, while they also have a large group of frontline Ireland internationals in their squad.
The fact that Leinster operate within an IRFU-run centralised system that includes national player contracts – 70% of which are currently paid from the IRFU’s budget, rather than Leinster’s – means it is difficult to accurately tally Leinster’s overall player budget in the same way a privately-owned French or English club can.
Leinster have strongly denied some of the wild guesses at their possible spend on players’ salaries in recent times, but that hasn’t stopped scrutiny from abroad and other parts of Ireland.
The URC is made up of four provinces from Ireland, four regions from Wales, two sides from Scotland, two Italian clubs, and four South African teams.
That complicates matters and URC CEO Anayi said the unions behind the competition have never asked for the possible introduction of a salary cap to be explored.
“No, they haven’t,” Anayi told The 42.
“It’s something we’ve talked about a lot at EPCR level – is there a salary cap system that might work? It’s so challenging though, for two main reasons.
“One, we’re in different territories, so how do you have a salary cap that’s adjusted for currency and how do you do that appropriately, certainly at times like now where there’s fluctuations in currencies, especially the [South African] Rand, that’s quite difficult.
“What it takes to bring Siya Kolisi to the Sharks on a Rand conversion, how do you equate that to a salary cap in France or England or Ireland?
“It’s very, very difficult and certainly no one has ever offered a solution to that.
“Secondly, how do you know when you’ve got union-owned clubs versus private clubs quite where the line and distinction is? I think that’s probably been the main challenge of trying to bring in a salary cap that would work.
“You could bring in a salary cap but would it work and be fair and equitable? Would it achieve the aims because part of the aims of salary caps are partly financial stability and part of it is sporting equity? And you’re not necessarily sure you get those things from a uniform salary cap.
“We haven’t been asked to do it but if we were asked to do it, it would be quite difficult.”
Despite the envious glances from elsewhere, Leinster have yet to win the URC in its current guise. They have been in three consecutive Champions Cup finals but haven’t got over the line in them. Their last trophy came in the PRO 14 in 2021.
So while they’re pace-setters and Anayi said it’s up to other URC teams to catch Leinster, he said there are no worries about an imbalance between sides in the competition.
“We are so proud of Leinster, to be honest,” said Anayi.
“To have arguably one of the best teams we’ve ever seen play club rugby… Franco Smith [the Glasgow coach] asked if they’re better than Ireland, so if someone like him is saying that, they’ve got to be pretty good.
“It’s for everybody else to catch up rather than to try and dumb that down in any shape or form. That’s the challenge that is being set. I don’t think any of our teams would ever suggest that Leinster need to get weaker. That’s maybe a narrative in other competitions, but certainly not in the URC.
“The challenge is can our teams beat Leinster regularly on a regular-season basis? So far, they haven’t been able to do that. They’ve not fared so well in South Africa but that’s largely due to congestion of fixtures post-Six Nations and the cadence of being in the business end of competitions like they are in. Until that recent loss in South Africa [to the Bulls], they went convincingly unbeaten. I think it’s for everyone else to rise to that challenge.
“Knock-out rugby is a different story. They haven’t won it in three years and that’s because there have been unbelievable results in the knock-outs, last-gasp drop goals, away wins by the Bulls, things like that.
“That’s why you have knock-out rugby. Anything can happen on the day.”
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