England Rugby’s Overseas Player Rule – A Restraint of Trade?

1. Introduction Since 2012, the Rugby Football Union (“RFU”) has operated a policy under which players playing for clubs outside of England cannot be selected to play for the England national team, save in exceptional circumstances (the “Policy”). It is…

Ealing and Doncaster Denied Premiership Promotion: Grounds for Appeal?

On 1 March 2022, the RFU announced that no Championship club had met the Minimum Standards Criteria for entry to the Premiership ahead of the 2022/23 season. As such, the winner of the Championship this year will not be promoted…

The Moratorium on Premiership Relegation: A Legal Perspective

On Friday 12 February, the RFU Council approved a moratorium on relegation from rugby’s Premiership for the 2020-21 season. Citing the impact of COVID-19, the decision has been taken with the financial stability of the Premiership clubs in mind, with…

International Player Release: the French legal challenge to World Rugby’s authority

On 11 September, The Times reported that the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (“LNR”) had “filed a legal case” with the European Commission challenging World Rugby’s Regulation 9 on player release. According to the report, the LNR is “seeking to strip…

Permanent Pay Cuts and Reducing the Salary Cap

This week, it has been announced that Premiership clubs have voted unanimously in favour of lowering the level of the Premiership Rugby salary cap from the start of the 2021/2022 season. It has also been reported that Premiership Rugby (“PRL”)…

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…

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…