Raelene Castle said, "RA does all it can to support [grassroots rugby]."GETTY IMAGES
Rugby Australia CEO Raelene Castle responded to claims that her administration is "ignoring the foundations of the game," saying that it is a "personal aim" of hers to generate more money for rugby's grassroots. Castle was "livid at criticism" from Club Rugby TV exec Nick Fordham that RA "abandoned rugby clubs around the country." She said that the national body is "overhauling its commercial model to drive revenue back to the community game" but needs Super Rugby and the Wallabies "to be strong to make that happen" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 9/10).
The Korea Baseball Organization on Tuesday set an annual salary cap of $1M on "new foreign players." The KBO established the hard cap to "curb teams' spending on imports and to ensure fair competition." The figure includes wages, incentives, signing bonuses and transfer fees (YONHAP, 9/11).
Australian Rugby League Commission Chair Peter Beattie "raised the prospect of eliminating the three-year stand-down period for commissioners," a move that "could clear the way for the likes of Nick Pappas, John Quayle and Nick Politis to walk straight on to the ARL Commission." Beattie will reopen the constitutional debate on Wednesday by discussing "whether to put changes back on the table." The debate was "brought to an abrupt end last year when clubs and states were unable to agree on a way forward" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 9/12).
The GAA said that while it is "open to any proposals for assisting counties with their financial burdens," the payment across the board of travel and catering costs for all counties might not be the "ideal vehicle for doing so." That proposal arose from a statement released by former Roscommon football Manager Kevin McStay last week. Behind the idea is a "dual purpose, the alleviation of the strain on especially smaller counties and an equalisation measure," given that Dublin would not have those costs "or certainly not to the same extent" (IRISH TIMES, 9/11).
