Kerry Packer wanted to revolutionize rugby union in 1995 in the same way he revolutionized cricket in 1977.
He was locked away in a safe deposit box for almost 30 years, but the player's original contract with the World Rugby Corporation, the £200 million rugby circus that threatened global rift, can now be revealed.
Document , which remains in its original form. the condition serves as a stark and fascinating reminder of the “rugby war” that could have ended more than 120 years of Test rugby.
And, according to the owner, the former England and British and Irish Lions locked up Martin Bayfield, a moment of missed opportunity for the Rugby Union whose consequences are still being felt today as the union is on the verge of offering new hybrid contracts to gain more control over its players.< /p>
The battle for the future of rugby union, which stumbled into professionalism amid the 1995 World Cup in South Africa, was fought largely in the southern hemisphere under the leadership of media moguls Rupert Murdoch. and Kerry Packer went head-to-head in the race for broadcast rights that could hasten the end of the amateur game.
Murdoch appeared to have struck the decisive blow when, on the eve of the World Cup final between the Springboks and New Zealand, it was announced that the southern hemisphere's three major unions – South Africa, New Zealand and Australia – had agreed to pay US$550 million. deal with its News Corp organization.
The 10-year agreement gave News Corp exclusive television rights to the new annual Tri-Nations international tournament, the Super 12 club competition and all incoming Test tours to the three countries.
But what News Corp and the unions didn't know at the time was that behind the scenes, leading players in each of the three countries had already been secretly approached by representatives of the World Rugby Corporation (WRC), led by former Wallabies prop Ross Turnbull and later supported by Packer.
About 400 players have signed preliminary contracts, including most from New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, after the WRC contacted their captains Sean Fitzpatrick, Phil Kearns and Francois Pienaar.
< img src ="/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2b20d5a3af0ae6cfc300e184ddadc437.jpg" />World Rugby signed Francois Pienaar, who helped recruit many more Springboks. Photo: AP Photo/Jan Hamman
Ultimately, it was the Murdoch-backed unions who prevailed after the Springboks' WRC support collapsed under pressure from controversial South African Rugby Union president Louis Luyt.
While these machinations between players, unions and broadcasters have since been well documented, what is less well known is how close the England team at the time came to WRC membership – and turned their backs on the Rugby Football Union.< /p>
The contract offered England players were just as profitable as their southern hemisphere opponents. The 24-page document, entitled “Deed of Services”, included an offer of a salary of £200,000 per season starting 15 December 1995, as well as a match fee of £1,350 per game.
The WRC offered England players a basic salary of £200,000 a year on a three-year contract for refusing to join the rebel circus
The wide-ranging document, marked by Turnbull Hill Partners, a law firm based at Charlestown Mall in New South Wales, Australia, covered every aspect of life for players in a new global world league that proposed to include 30 franchises around the world. the globe would begin in September 1996.
“The Corporation proposes to establish a worldwide professional rugby organization beginning in 1996,” the contract states, although the game had not yet been declared “open” at that point. By the International Rugby Council, the governing body of the global game now known as World Rugby.
“The Corporation desires to retain the services of a Player to play rugby for the Corporation on the terms and conditions set out in this Act.”
The contract was considered confidential, including not only the amount of money offered, but the very existence of this document, which at the time was considered crucial to the success of signing the world's best players without the knowledge of their respective unions in the southern hemisphere, which separately negotiated the deal with News Corp.
However, players who received a contract offer would be left in no doubt about the consequences of signing it, as they would have to effectively turn their backs on the unions and hand over control of future competitions to the Corporation, including legal amendments and discipline.
< p>However, it is less clear where players will play this new professional game. It is only stipulated that they will be allocated a “region” – a territory determined by the WRC no later than December 31, 1995.
“In the event that the Corporation exercises its right to relocate a Player and the Corporation has given the player two months' notice of its intention to exercise such right, the Player, if he does not wish to play on a team designated by the Corporation, may have a period of one month to negotiate with other teams in an attempt to find a preferred team and accept the Player,” the contract states.
“The Player shall be available for selection by the Corporation or any affiliated organization and, if selected, will train and play for any representative Team participating in the Game and in any Competition conducted by the Corporation in any country.”
It was clear that the players would not be able to play for any other team once the contract came into effect, meaning players like Bayfield would have to turn their backs on England.
Bayfield (left) would have to give up international rugby if the scheme were scrapped. Photo: Russell Cheyne/Allsport
However, the level of support promised is impressive, including all “direct expenses incurred by the player in performing his duties hereunder,” including clothing, promotional events, gear and equipment, travel to games, room and board, comprehensive medical and disability insurance , which would pay 100 percent in the first year of the contract and 50 percent in the second and third years if the player is unable to play due to injury.
It was even prudent to acknowledge the importance of salary caps, making it clear that the corporation may introduce them for the benefit of the game and “the viability of teams and competitions.”
Considering the ten-year struggle to align the hemispheres and resolve the conflicts between club and country that originated in those unstable days. What also stands out is the simplicity that the contract tried to bring to the game that would become known as “rugby or rugby union”.
“Games, as far as possible, will be held primarily from September to April inclusive of each year, HOWEVER, the Corporation reserves the right to conduct summer competitions at any time or from time to time,” it adds.
Unclear , whether the WRC planned to recreate a summer tournament to replace the Lions tours, but importantly Bayfield, a veteran of the 1993 tour to New Zealand, insists that in the turbulent days following the 1995 World Cup, England players were on the verge. to signing the contract, even if it meant they might never play at Twickenham again.
'I earned £28,000 as a constable with Bedford Police'
Although high-brow talks involving southern hemisphere players took place in five four-star hotels in Sydney, Johannesburg and Auckland Bayfield says one of the crucial meetings involving England players took place in a less healthy place – the Holiday Inn in Crick near the M1 highway.
“When we came back from the World Cup, the East Midlands boys from Northampton and Leicester, including Dean Richards and Tim Rodber, met in this delightful setting near Junction 18 and discussed the options,” Bayfield told Telegraph Sport.
< img src="/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/fdc6e9e9e688dd84db18931118c386a8.jpg" /> Tim Rodber was among the players who met at the Crick Holiday Inn to discuss the secession proposal. Photo: RUSSELL CHAIN FOR THE TELEGRAPH“I had doubts about how a game that had been amateur since the day William Webb Ellis was a naughty boy and picked up a ball could become professional overnight and how administrators who had been amateurs suddenly became professional administrators.
“But suddenly we had contracts in front of us. They put together teams and you could be placed wherever the country might need you, like Australia or America. I guess we were all willing to sign the contract because the figures and numbers were good,” said Bayfield, who was earning around £28,000 at the time as a constable with Bedford Police.
“It it was an exciting activity. time for the players. We were asked to make a really important decision. And we were like those vultures in the Jungle Book movie, asking each other, “What do you think? I don't know? What do you think? I have no idea. But we liked the look of the numbers.
“But being the suspicious cop I am, I remember thinking that I would only sign it if I knew it was going to happen. That's why I put it in my safe, and that's why you now have it.”
Bayfield says it was only after South African players withdrew from the WRC that the concept collapsed, and although the RFU hesitated to impose a moratorium on professionalism for a year, club owners in England moved to sign the best players and took control.
< p>“From that moment on, seeds were sown that we are now reaping, without a doubt,” added Bayfield, who kept the contract as what he called “a piece of history,” similar to old jerseys and match programs.
< p> “This is a historical document of the evolution of rugby,” Bayfield added. “The RFU are now trying to get those central contracts but at the time if they had gone to the top 100 players in England and said we'll pay you £150,000, £100,000 and £75,000 on a sliding scale, we would everyone signed contracts and the RFU could then loan these players back to their clubs and things would go according to plan. There will be no negotiations between the club and the country that we are currently conducting.”
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