‘Tapping Up’ in Rugby: the van Rensburg case

On 21 April 2020, the RFU published the decision of an independent disciplinary panel (the “Panel”) in the matter of RFU v Rohan Janse van Rensburg, Sale Sharks and Matthew Ginvert (the “Decision”). The case, involving charges against a player,…

A Review of the Myners Review – Part II

This is Part 2 of my review of the Myners Review. On 14 May 2020, Premiership Rugby published the report of the independent review of the Premiership Rugby Salary Cap Regulations (the “Regulations”), conducted by Lord Myners. Publication of the…

A detailed review of disciplinary proceedings at Rugby World Cup 2019 (Part 1)

The following article was co-authored by Kevin Carpenter and I, and published by LawInSport. It has been in the pipeline for some time, but we hope that it provides a comprehensive analysis of the disciplinary decisions of Rugby World Cup…

Premiership Rugby v Saracens: the Salary Cap Decision

The judgment is public – at last. Almost three months after Saracens Rugby Club (“Saracens”) were punished for breaching the Premiership Rugby Salary Cap Regulations (the “Regulations”), Premiership Rugby (“PRL”) has released the full written decision (the “Decision”) of the…

The Relegation of Saracens

On Saturday 18th January 2020, Saracens were condemned to relegation from the English Premiership. Two days on, I can scarcely believe that I have just written that. In spite of the £5.36 million fine, the 35-point deduction and the difficulties…

Saracens and the Salary Cap – Part IV: Becoming Compliant

This article is the fourth in a series of articles on the Saracens salary cap case and shall consider the ways in which Saracens might be able to become compliant with the Premiership Rugby Salary Cap Regulations (the “Regulations”), this…

Welsh Rugby Union v Robert Howley: Prohibited Betting

On 11 December 2019, a Judicial Committee (the “Committee”) appointed by the Welsh Rugby Union (“WRU”) handed down its decision in the case of WRU v Robert Howley (the “Decision”). The Committee found that Howley had breached World Rugby Regulation…

Saracens and the Salary Cap – Part III: The Legal Implications

Now that the dust has settled, the wider implications of the Saracens salary cap scandal fall to be considered. Part I of this series explained the decision to sanction the club (the “Decision”) for breaching the Premiership Rugby Salary Cap…

Saracens and the Salary Cap – Part II: Grounds for Review?

This is the second part of a series of articles on Saracens’ breaches of the Premiership Rugby Salary Cap Regulations. Part I, which explained the breaches and the applicable Regulations can be found here. Part III shall follow in due…