Category: Rugby

Saracens’ new fly-half is not daunted at the prospect of following in the footsteps of his illustrious predecessor

Certain acts are tougher to follow than others. Imagine, say, playing Hamlet at the Old Vic with the ghost of Sir Laurence Olivier on your shoulder. Or succeeding Sean Connery as the next James Bond. As he prepares for his first home league game as Owen Farrell’s heir apparent, Saracens’ new fly-half, Fergus Burke, knows he is stepping into some exalted shoes.

Which, of course, presents an instant dilemma: do you try to be a carbon copy of your predecessor – give or take the Wigan accent – or resolve to be your own man? Sitting in St Albans, his freshly adopted home town, the 25-year-old Burke has already made his mind up. “Stepping into someone else’s role … there’s obviously a bit of expectation. I just try and park that. Owen was an awesome player and one of the best this club has seen. But I’ve got to be my own player. I can’t be thinking too much about what’s been.”

Seven of the 10 Premiership clubs are balance sheet insolvent but all of rugby must change, says James Haskell

Rarely has the gap between how rugby would like to be perceived and the unvarnished reality felt wider than it did on a grey midweek lunchtime in the City of London. The Honourable Artillery Company – “Turn right just past the cannon, sir” – remains a seriously valuable piece of real estate which made it an interesting choice of venue from which to launch a coruscating critique of the financial state of English club rugby.

It was certainly instructive to sit among seated rows of money men and lawyers listening to assorted experts, academics and – boom, tish! – the former England flanker James Haskell assessing the findings of a newly published independent report into the health of the Premiership’s finances. Interrupted only by the occasional chiming of a splendid grandfather clock, it was the most contemporary of debates in the most old school of settings.

• James Haskell fears rugby ‘heading for precipice’
• Ten clubs collectively lost around £30.5m in 2022-23

Seven of the 10 English Premiership clubs are balance sheet insolvent, according to an independent financial industry report which has prompted a stark warning that unless the sport embraces change it is “heading for a precipice”.

A comprehensive study analysing the financial sustainability of all the Premiership sides, unveiled by the leading UK corporate recovery and insolvency firm Leonard Curtis, concluded that only three clubs – Leicester, Northampton and Gloucester – would be viable without the backing of wealthy owners and said they must face “some harsh realities”.