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Agustín Pichot wants England to Split gate revenue with Samoa. Twickenham Stadium is to play host to November Internationals next month. The game against Samoa is causing old debates to resurface as the cash-strapped union will get nothing from a Full House at English rugby HQ.
Fed-up with the status quo Samoa is set to request a fee of £160,000 from the RFU. It estimates that England will make a £10million profit from the fixture.
Pichot has experienced both sides of the coin. As captain of Los Pumas he had unfortunate experiences which included low pay from the UAR at times. The professional game in Europe helped boost the team, taking them to the unimaginable heights of Bronze at France 2007.
Now as the Vice-Chairman of World Rugby Pichot is a part of a team attempting to find a balance. Indeed Samoa far from being the only union seeking a revenue-share model.
Existing conditions mean that all profits go to the host union. Samoa is an example of an economically disadvantanged union in a sparsely populated country. While it can gain from appearance fees abroad it simply cannot provide the same for hosting England or New Zealand.
In addressing the conflicting positions Pichot told the Mail Online:
“The whole economic equation in rugby is wrong at the moment, I can’t bull**** you and say it’s all fine, because it is a massive issue. We need a long-term plan.”
“The revenue share model has been discussed. But the Tier One countries decided that wouldn’t sustain their economies. England can say they built their stadium to generate profit. Scotland can argue they would be broke if they had to revenue share. New Zealand can say they need a turnover of 150 million to break even. You could take the view that is selfish, but it’s their right to make those points.”
“I was in those meetings and it’s tough. Someone has £200m and they want £220m. I’m looking for a fair growth of the game.”
Pichot also points out what he believes to be a solution for Samoa and others. He likes the idea of Los Jaguares being applied to Tier Two nations. He also feels that only selection home-based players is appropriate.
“The Argentinian system is the way forward. Our guys are living in Argentina and making good money relative to our economy. Yes, they can make more money in Europe but at least they have the option to stay at home. There is no revenue share there.”
“There are talks of Fiji joining Super Rugby and new competitions in new territories in the Islands. The Fiji CEO invited us to tour there. We are pushing the big nations to travel to the Pacific Islands. We have never pushed so hard. Every meeting it’s on the agenda.”
