Evans: 'Europe will lure biggest stars'
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 10:35
Harlequins Chief Executive Mark Evans says he has no doubt all of the world’s best players will be plying their trade in European competitions within the next ten years.
Speaking in an interview in the latest edition of Rugby World Evans seemingly served up a stern warning to all the club, unions and franchises in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
According to Evans, the fact that the Tri-Nations countries will never be able to compete financially with the powers of Europe, as with football, the best talents will almost certainly be drawn abroad.
“Just ask yourself: why would a 22-year-old want to play for the Western Force for $40,000 a year when he could be earning £200,000 [$470,000] at Stade [Francais, in Paris]” he asked.
“In 10 years’ time, 20 at most, all the best players in the world will be playing in Europe.”
Many of the of the Southern Hemisphere’s biggest stars have already made the move to Europe and, perhaps most worryingly for the countries below the equator, the players themselves seem to be getting younger and younger.
Greg Harris, Force Chief Executive, admitted that the increasing lure from up north was the biggest threat to the local game in Australia and that something seriously needed to be done in order to prevent the game from coming under increasing strain.
“Our biggest challenge in the southern hemisphere is to expand the economy of the game here,” he told The West.
“If this trend is allowed to continue, we’ll end up like soccer - and if that’s the case, we will get caught in a vicious cycle of poverty. If we dumb down the product the media rights will be smaller, which means we have less money to pay players and they’ll look to Europe even more.”
