THE FURORE surrounding the decision to fine Saracens more than £5m and dock them 35 points (not to mention the legal fees) has tended to obscure the fact that, ever since its inception in 1999, the salary cap has not operated well.
As an unashamed proponent of a range of equalization policies, such as a collective bargaining agreement, a closed league, and differential funding, as well as a flat salary cap linked to average club revenue, it gives me no pleasure to record that. Unless a salary cap is part of an integrated, multi-faceted, mutually reinforcing a set of policies it will never be highly effective.
I can barely remember a time when one or another of the Premiership clubs were not generally felt by their fellow teams to be breaking or getting around the cap. It indicates that the salary cap has been honored more in the breach than the observance.
This story is from the January 2020 edition of Rugby World.
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This story is from the January 2020 edition of Rugby World.
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