Gloucester and former England speedster Jonny Might says Premiership groups are at a monetary drawback in Europe after dropping to a Springbok-powered Sharks group within the Problem Cup ultimate.
Might was a part of the Gloucester group that suffered a 36-22 defeat to the Sharks within the ultimate of the EPCR’s second-tier match in London final weekend.
The Sharks lifted their first main title and have become the primary South African group to win an EPCR competitors on the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
With 4 World Cup-winning Springboks of their tight 5, the Sharks dominated the bodily exchanges, with their defence and scrum forcing Gloucester onto the again foot.
Reacting to the European finals, Might questioned how Premiership groups can compete, as he feels that England’s top-tier remains to be at an obstacle when in comparison with groups within the Vodacom URC and High 14.
“How do the English groups compete with the Irish groups, the URC groups with no wage cap or the French groups? That’s the form of elephant within the room,” he mentioned on The Good, The Unhealthy and The Rugby podcast.
“How is it that the English groups are going to compete with golf equipment who’re spending thrice the quantity on their squad?
“The group that Gloucester had out on the weekend – and we tried our greatest – their group financially will need to have been three or 4 instances dearer than our group.
“They had been a lot the higher group on the day. They confirmed up and, though we gave it a go, we couldn’t actually get within the recreation, simply because they’d far more internationals and better high quality gamers it felt like.
“It comes right down to cash. It’s a South Africa pack, it’s a joke.”
Might’s feedback are considerably inaccurate, as South Africa’s URC groups at present work beneath an annual wage cap of R85 million (£3.5m), elevated from final season’s R71 million (£2.9m).
In the meantime, Premiership groups have a wage cap of £5 million, equating to roughly R119.5 million.
Photograph: Paul Harding/Gallo Photographs
