Gasnier's French offer 'unmatchable'
Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:14
National Rugby League boss David Gallop said Tuesday Australian clubs cannot match the AU$1-million (US$970,000) a season offer which has lured Test centre Mark Gasnier to French rugby side Stade Francais.
Gasnier confirmed at a press conference on Tuesday that he would leave the St George Illawarra Dragons at the end of this season in October to join Stade Francais on a two-year deal.
The high-profile centre said his move was not motivated by money, but revealed an exit clause in his club contract was only activated because he was owed third-party sponsorship money promised to him when he signed a five-year deal in 2006.
Gasnier said he would not have looked at an offer from rugby union had his contract been honoured, but he had no choice but to leave because he felt like he was only earning "two-thirds" of his wages.
"The hardest things was to walk away from the club, I love the club," said Gasnier, who is to earn a reported AU$1-million a year to play for the Parisian club, coached next season by Australian Ewen McKenzie.
"I grew up here [in Australia], there's a lot of family history. But it's the circumstances that led me here.
"It's unfortunate how things come about but I've had to react to it and I think this is the best reaction for me."
But NRL chief executive Gallop said with or without a AU$4-million club salary cap, Australian Rugby League clubs were not in a position to compete with offers of AY$1-million a season.
"As disappointing as today’s decision is, the realities that everyone has to accept are that you can't invent money and that our [NRL] clubs cannot match AU$1-million a year for a player," Gallop said in a statement.
"That is not a salary cap issue, that is simply a case of what clubs can and cannot afford."
Gasnier, a nephew of former Australian Rugby League great Reg Gasnier, has scored 77 tries in 134 NRL games for St George Illawarra since his top grade debut in 2000.
Gasnier, who turns 27 on Saturday, has played 15 Tests for Australia, scoring 11 tries and played for New South Wales (NSW) in nine State of Origin games against Queensland.
AFP
