Andrew Hore: Welsh rugby's salary cap could have to rise in future seasons

WELSH rugby’s salary cap may have to rise to help the regions keep pace with their European rivals, believes Andrew Hore.

Each of the four professional sides spends a maximum of £3.5 million on Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge squad members.

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   Andrew Hore

   
   

Ospreys chief executive Hore stresses that it is too soon to change the figure.

But he feels that in the seasons ahead the cap could be adjusted for certain regions.

 

He said: “At the moment the cap is set at the same level for all, but I believe there could come a point when we need to look at it again and decide whether it needs to change. If some businesses can show they can generate more income and manage their books effectively, then it may have to rise.

“That’s the beauty of what we have in place: we can wind it up as well as wind it down. There are companies such as ours who have a lot of Welsh representatives, so our wage bill will be high because we have to contract more players to cover for the ones we lose to the Welsh national cause.

“We wholeheartedly support the salary-cap concept, because if we don’t have a limit in place there is a risk that we will lose one or two entities in the future.

“But my argument would be we might need to start reviewing it on an individual basis in the seasons ahead.”

The regions introduced the cap last summer amid an economic malaise that posed a huge threat to some of the regions.

Hore stresses there will be no going back to the days of the professional sides living beyond their means.

And he also believes the Ospreys, Scarlets, Blues and Dragons can be competitive under the current arrangements.

“There is still the opportunity for a team to do extremely well in Europe on what we are on,” he said.

“The Irish get just about £1 million more than us and they’ve been successful, repeatedly winning the Heineken Cup. They’d argue their £4.5 million per annum is still a hell of a lot less than the French budgets of 22 or 23 million euros.

“But that is where the concept of a team overrides how much you spend on your squad.

“We were spending £3 million more a few years ago. Would people say there is that much difference in our outcomes? People have bought into the fact that these players are giving every thing they can and are often over-achieving.

“They are recognising that these kids are loving the jersey and representing the region fantastically.

“In comparison to Italian, Irish and Scottish teams we are about a £1 million to £1.5 million shy in terms of funding.

“But it isn’t just about money.

“Most of the teams who have been successful in Europe have decent levels of funding but they are also big on the concept of team.

“That is what we have to continue to progress.”

Andrew Hore: Welsh rugby"s salary cap could have to rise in future seasons