Super Rugby side ACT Brumbies CEO Michael Jones said that the club will "have to be innovative to beat rich overseas teams trying to poach their stars, flagging a potential contract system overhaul to help retain Australia's best players," according to Chris Dutton of THE AGE. Brumbies vice-captain Nic White last week joined a "growing list of players who will move their careers abroad after the World Cup at the end of the year, committing to a lucrative deal with French club Montpellier." The Brumbies face a "huge challenge to hold on to several off-contract players." But Jones believes changing the contract system from a 12-month deal to base it around the length of a season will "free players up to supplement their earnings with overseas stints" in the Super Rugby offseason. Jones: "We need to be innovative, maybe we need to look at the way we're contracting players" (THE AGE, 1/25). STUFF's Liam Napier reported the game's "faltering position in Australia," where it is slipping "further behind" league, football, the Australian Football League and cricket, is "also causing headaches." The competition's financial bottom line is "another worry." While Super Rugby can be justified as world rugby's "premier franchise competition," it cannot compete with the financial backing in France, England or Japan. Eight of rugby's top 10 highest earners "reside in the bosom of wealthy French club owners" who are willing to pay up to A$2M ($1.57M) per season, with the other two "plying their trade in England." There are also 42 int'ls among the top four Japanese club teams (STUFF, 1/25).
