from the mirror website:

[iClubs face up to cash crunch[/i

Bath: Made a £357,000 loss last year. Limited by 10,600 capacity ground.

Bristol: Running a £1million deficit and have appealed for new investors.

Gloucester: Flying high in league and packed in more than 15,000 for a recent game. In good nick.

Harlequins: Growing by the day on and off the pitch. Expect 50,000 for game with Leicester on Dec 27.

Leicester: England's biggest club with a devoted following. Sell out 17,500 stadium most weeks.

London Irish: Top of the Premiership and solid at the turnstiles, averaging around 9,000.

Newcastle: Jonny Wilkinson is injured(again) and crowds are down below 5,400. Worrying times.

Northampton: Great stadium, passionate following. Owner Keith Barwell has them in good order.

Sale: Bankrolled by owner Brian Kennedy, have done well to grow business in football-mad area.

Saracens: Another club owned by a sugar daddy (Nigel Wray), though more self-sufficient than before.

Wasps: Restructuring under new ownership after big losses last year. Can't fill modest stadium despite being champions.

Worcester: Great ground and passionate owner in Cecil Duckworth. Just need some success.

and at least 5 of the clubs are being bankrolled by a 'sugar daddy'

If you opened the kick & clap pages of a newspaper last weekend, you couldn't failed to have noticed all the hype about USAP, the Perpignan union outfit's short-term signing of Dan Carter (who is supposed to be the best Union player going at the moment).

USAP haven't won a French championship for over 50 years and clearly, something that wasn't picked up on in the press, they must feel threatend by the Les Catalan Dragons ?

Les Cats are playing in front of a similar number of fans each week than watch USAP and the visiting Northerns fill the bars and restaurants three times more each year than anyone over for the Heiniken Cup ....

Desperate measure by Unionistas in SW France in the face of resurgent RL ?

:2kc2z7ma

Arguably best player in the world, and it gets plenty of newspaper coverage. Not exactly surprising. Coverage is comparable to coverage Andrew Johns received.

:2kc2z7ma

When was the last title Warrington have won ? By your logic the Johns coverage occurred because Warrington felt threatened by Sale.

a new zealander playing in the french league and yet gets more press coverage than someone (johns) playing in the Super League

ere, i watched a bit of that quins v leicester match the other day. one question arising from it........................................does that toby flood wear make up????? looks like it to me. girl!

he was out on the town straight after the match

Getting nailed by his team mates ?

even yawnion feels the pinch...

[urlhttp://msnsport.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12321_4794490,00.html[/url

At the end of the day, they are businesses just like any other professional sports club. I'm a little surprised the salary cap stayed at its current level, but given the size of the squads they need to carry I guess it's difficult to reduce it too much. Would be interested to know what the "other cost-cutting measures" are, given that salaries form the bulk of the outgoings for clubs.

The extra fixtures are most likely to replace the Anglo-Welsh Cup that no-one gives a monkeys about I reckon, although there are some clubs for whom playing extra games isn't going to be that much of a money-spinner given their average crowds and fixed costs.

at the end of the day crowds arent such a worry for union clubs. sponsorship and corporate are far more important.
i was chatting to a union ref yesterday who old me that restructuring was already afoot within the rfu and that a 2 division pro league isnt that far off.

Anyone bored and watching Wasps Leinster? How was that first "try" a try?

Watched the genuine battle of the capitals earlier, Ulster v Quins.

Since when has High Wycombe been the capital of Engand?

dont ruin it for them!

just heard the bbc's union correspondent explaining the playoff system.
sounded like almost all the teams are involved and either he made a mess of explaining it or it is a mess.
anyone shed some light on the matter?

news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_u ... 840755.stm Not good.

news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_u ... 840755.stm Not good.

Stevens interview on Skysports was very compelling. Sounds likes he's been sniffing the white stuff or popping pills with his mates. Fair play to him for conceding he is an idiot and taking full responsibility.

more on the south african england forward and his drugs test failure

[urlhttp://www.sportinglife.com/rugbyunion/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=rugby/09/01/20/RUGBYU_Stevens_Snap.html[/url

6-8 months ban IMO plus a rehab program.

had the pleasure of watching the fat git for about 20 mins on ssn tonight the only upside was they didnt have US election on

Looks more like he's been overdosing on Big Macs.... Hope he doesn't go back to his singing career



He should just suck it up, take the 2 year ban on the chin and use it as a opportunity to get properly fit and train like a proper athlete. Boo-hoo...

Obviously someone wasn't talking to Frank like he should have been.

Aye, I think he's been talking to Lawrence instead........

Good line.

Alarm bells started ringing when he tried taking that stuffed dog for a walk.