Rugby in Sri Lanka governed by Rupees, with little or no sense
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There are times when supporters find it hard to digest a defeat - File pic
Does Rugby in Sri Lanka pay more for coaches or for players? Whoever is paid more, the question is why? What really has the game or the sports pubic gained? With dwindling gates, other than for schools, who finds the money to support the payout?
In schools, with no player payment, possibly, the coaches get paid more than what is spent on players. The other side of the argument will be that we spend on player support which includes supplements and nutrition. With coach payments ranging from Rs 1.8 million to Rs 6 million a year, the budgets vary from Rs 12 million to Rs 30 million a year, in the top 10 schools. The money is found from sponsors who are brought in by committees. They extend their own demands, as they pay a coach handsomely. This in turn leads to pressure on the boys. It is about Rupees and no sense. As in the past, do these coaches inculcate a passion for the game and the spirit? The coaches are not alone in the cuckoo’s nest. Those sponsorship committees are willing buddies.
The clubs too have their committees to find sponsors. They have to pay not only the coaches and for nutrition and supplements, but also have to pay the players. Coaches take a handsome share and the committee wants performance, if not a piece of silverware. Pressure is on specific players, as they are nurtured to win matches. There is little in player development, such as a centre-three-quarter can play only in that position, as he has not been developed to play on the wing. Starts from school and ends with the National team being short of multi-talented players, as the game needs more than 15.
The highest-earning captain in international cricket in 2017, stands to make nearly 20 times as much as the lowest-earning top cricketers in the world. They earn around US$ 1 million from playing international cricket. The 3 highest paid are from Australia, India and England. Comparatively, the rest of World Cricket is less than US$ 0.5 million, with Sri Lanka being around US$ 0.3 million. In the case of coaches, India is at the high end, while rest of the coaches are paid less than 50% of what India pays These rates are still low, compared with other sports such as Football, where Ronaldo will make 50 times more. The best paid in Formula 1 and Basketball will make 30 times more.
Even though low, compared with the rest of the world, a Sri Lankan cricketer is better off. You may find more spectators at a domestic Rugby match than in Cricket. The overall return is however more in Cricket. A return for a Rugby player can never be in that scale.
Rugby players are paid to play for their national teams. Like all other major sports, top Rugby player’s bigger chunk of income comes from their professional contracts with their respective clubs. But all Rugby Union international teams also compensate players with a fixed match fee plus performance related bonuses. Most of the players in top Rugby nations have professional contracts with their clubs. France and England has the best Rugby Leagues and they attract players from around the world. Average monthly salary of top pros in Europe is around £45,000 a month, while the highest paid player Dan Carter earns £1.4 million a year.
Among the top 2 is AyumuGoromaru – who stands alongside Carter. Goromaru put his name on the map after some eye-catching performances in the 2015 Rugby World Cup as fullback for Japan.
Requirements for coaches vary by position but, in the US, they are often required to have an Associate or Bachelor’s Degree, 1 to 2 years of Rugby coaching experience, first aid and CPR certification, and a clean background check.
The mean annual salary for Rugby coaches, is US$ 36,680, according to the Bureau of Labour Statistics in USA. Those working for professional organizations earn about US$ 62,610, while those coaching elementary or secondary schools earn less, with an annual income of US$ 49,860.
Cricket has debated the value of a coach to the modern Cricket side. They are worth plenty to most Boards, a number of whom pay them a basic salary several times that of their top players. Ravi Shastri at US$ 1.17 million per year, is the world’s highest paid Cricket coach and, on his salary alone, he earns a little less than what the top players from Australia, England and India earn in a year.
But paying the head coach that much more than the top players, seems to be a South Asian trend. The Bangladesh Cricket Board pays Chandika Hathurasingha 5 times the basic salary of their top player.; Similarly, Mickey Arthur is paid 3 times as much as a top category Pakistan player. Sri Lanka were paying their last full-time coach, Graham Ford, twice what their top player was paid.
Perhaps it is because, historically, in these countries the coach’s position has been the most vulnerable: the high-risk nature of a subcontinent job means attracting someone, especially from outside the region, requires that much more money.
Can we make the same argument about coaches and players in Sri Lanka? Compared with the times of those who coached Rugby because of a passion, have we produced better players through all that is spent? Or, has all these become a burden, with lots of questions being asked about the money that is being spent, and possible tightening by the tax man, where will Rugby stand? The issue to ponder is whether all the spending has helped social wellbeing or, just the wellbeing of some and the perceived satisfaction of others. In the long run, is the sport leading to be top heavy, with less contribution to society?
Vimal Perera is a former Rugby Referee, Coach and an Accredited Referees’ Evaluator IRB