The sport of rugby takes pride in its values and the manner in which the game is played.
It has stayed truer to the Corinthian spirit than many might have forecast from the outside as the professional era was ushered in post the famous ‘Mandela’ Rugby World Cup of 1995.
But 20 years is a blink of an eye in big business, and that in many ways is what the sport has become. The tones are more subdued than its brash and noisy professional equivalent with a round ball, but it is a professional sport and needs make no apology for that.
Once money starts to enter the equation things change in sport, as they do in all aspects of life.
Different Paths
There are different paths to be taken in terms of managing its impact and effect.
Two of those potential paths crossed on Sunday as Munster went down bravely in the last ever Heineken Cup semi final.
Irish Rugby is managed centrally. The success of the provinces in the professional era has been achieved in a way that the architects of the IRFU path could only have dreamed of leading up to ’95.
To have three provinces win the ultimate club prize of the Heineken Cup six times between them is an exceptional achievement.
Good Work
To do so at the same time as standing on the edge of the 5th professional Rugby World Cup with a national team proven in the RBS 6 Nations to be the best side in the Northern Hemisphere is proof that much good work at every level has been done.
But Toulon represents the wolf like features of the financial challenge that threatens to derail future Irish dominance at provincial and international level.
In France, there was a more laissez faire approach to the professional era. And even that suggests more intent to control matters centrally than was actually the case.
French clubs became trophy assets of a wealthy class that wanted to show off their fortune and what it could achieve.
Sport is big business but at the highest club level the economics are distorted.
Sporting Destiny
In soccer oligarchs and potentates have been able to alter the course of sporting destiny by force of spending power.
Players grew rich while clubs largely ignored the economic nonsense of their false bottom lines and fans went along for the ride.
Rugby was always a bit more refined, but the promise of glory, backed in some measure by increased sponsorship, merchandising and TV income made it an arena where people with money wanted to play.
To be fair though it was passion not fashion that brought Maroud Boudjellal to the owners box at the Stade Mayol.
Born and bred in Toulon and fiercely proud of it, the spark for his translating a comic book fortune onto a ‘Roy of the Rovers’ dream team was seeing a bitterly divided city come together and celebrate as one in 2005 on regaining Top 14 status.
Last year’s Heineken Cup win was a reward for his ‘Galactico’ investment. But again, to be unfashionably fair, he has invested in the club academy in the hope that one day it will be a team of Toulon, standing on the shoulders of the rugby giants he has attracted to scale the heights at first.
Heady Cocktail
Victory and success is a heady cocktail and the latest surge of money from the Top 14 TV contract will make the patience that policy needs more difficult to nurture when your nearest rivals are still looking to spend big.
The English Premiership will have a self imposed £5 million salary cap next year.
That is small change compared to what France can offer.
The way in which the English RFU has countered the economic magnet has been to only play foreign-based players on the national team in exceptional circumstances. That stick is bigger with a home World Cup on the near horizon, but will be less powerful after the Webb Ellis trophy is handed over next year.
Ireland is even more restrained, and despite what are likely to be bigger budgets arising from the European Champions’ Cup, the lure of France will be very powerful for some of those standing and fighting for the Red of Munster this weekend.
It is the way of the professional world. Players genuinely protest that they want to stay at home but money cannot be ignored in a short career.
Pride, roots, tradition and those great attributes of sport at its finest are easier seen and valued from those of us in front of a microphone than from those who are under a maul.
There are no guarantees in sport. That’s an important part of the magic mix that attracts us to play, watch and get involved emotionally as well as financially. The money loads the dice in favour of Toulon at present but it is not the only thing that moves the numbers on the scoreboard.
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