The two faces of Warren Gatland ?

[tigercaspian]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/33272549

Am I mistaken , or when it suits him it's OK , but when it doesn't it's not ??

[jgriffin]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/33272549

Am I mistaken , or when it suits him it's OK , but when it doesn't it's not ??

Has always been a pile of rubbish merely aimed at blackmailing players.

[ourla]

Well that was as clear as mud.

[4071]

Just to confirm, he's claiming that Dragons own Faletau and he is theirs to sell on as they please. He has no say in the matter - he is bound to his new owners.


Isn't that slavery....?

[welshy08]

Another non hysterical and well thought out thread on the Leicester tigers forum.

[tigercaspian]

I was hoping someone would clarify or interpret for me what Gatland's policy actually is, hence the ?? in my original post.
It seems to me that he is happy to pick some players who don't play for a Welsh club but then tells others he won't pick them if they go & play 'abroad', that's the bit I don't understand.

[Dr H Flashman MBE]

Another non hysterical and well thought out thread on the Leicester tigers forum.

Why bother reading said forum if you believe the postings to be such? Or is it because someone has said something that is anti Gatland and by that Anti Welsh?

[4071]

I was hoping someone would clarify or interpret for me what Gatland's policy actually is, hence the ?? in my original post.
It seems to me that he is happy to pick some players who don't play for a Welsh club but then tells others he won't pick them if they go & play 'abroad', that's the bit I don't understand.

A recent clarification of Gatland's Law suggests that he can pretty much pick anyone he wants whenever he wants, but that the WRU need some kind of a stick to scare players into staying in Wales.

It's absolutely full of loopholes. This Faletau one simply being the latest.

At least it's pragmatic. Wales have too small a player base to rule out all players based outside Wales, and can't possibly compete with the French/English clubs when it comes to retaining talent. But a complete open-door policy would increase an already dangerous player drain and leave the regions denuded, making it harder to hold on to the next tier of players.

This is a grey middle-ground that leaves a lot of room for manoeuvre between the two positions.

[loretta]

It pains me to point out that there is a shred of pragmatism about the Faletau situation, in that Bath is only a short trip over the border so distance wouldn't be a barrier to his availability.

Contract details might be though.

[tigerburnie]

I always thought the main "beef" was that players outside of Wales were not always available i.e. extra internationals outside the agreed window( a certain George North/ Sinners was fined was/were, he/they not?). If a player wanted to work elsewhere and had a clause for release for international duty, then Gatland could be open to litigation if he refused to consider a player and trying to force a guy to work only in Wales.

[youngtiger]

It pains me to point out that there is a shred of pragmatism about the Faletau situation, in that Bath is only a short trip over the border so distance wouldn't be a barrier to his availability.

Contract details might be though.

According to the end of that article, Bath will be offering to break the rules, same as Northampton did before, and Quins this coming season with Roberts, apparently. So there won't be a barrier to his availability in his contract details. Clearly the Saints fine hasn't dissuaded other clubs from following suit...

[Alatoruk]

I liked the bit where he justified not sticking to the 'wales only' policy by saying that the policy hadnt thought about players being bought out of contracts, so it wasnt Toby's choice to go abroad, so Toby hadnt broken the policy himself, so could still be picked.

otherwise called the 'I'll pick who I damn well like' policy.

[4071]

I always thought the main "beef" was that players outside of Wales were not always available i.e. extra internationals outside the agreed window( a certain George North/ Sinners was fined was/were, he/they not?). If a player wanted to work elsewhere and had a clause for release for international duty, then Gatland could be open to litigation if he refused to consider a player and trying to force a guy to work only in Wales.

No, he couldn't.

[Red Boots]

Are transfer fees included in the salary cap?

[fleabane]

As reported elsewhere on the forum, the "buyout" figure should be included, but I suspect there is a loophole somewhere! (The inclusion of benefit year "earnings" also used to come into it, which was what deterred us from signing Ben Cohen in his benefit year).