Rugby: Forget Gaz, Rugby has a $6million man.

[Steve Dangerous]

This is so bizzarely over the top it's just insane.


Giteau to become rugby's $6 million man
Friday Apr 21 21:33 AEST

Australian rugby is reportedly set to get its own $6 million man, with Matt Giteau about to become the highest paid football player in the country by joining the Western Force Super 14 team.

Giteau, 23, has agreed terms with the Perth-based franchise which will see him paid $1.2 million a year for the next five years, the Nine Network reported.

A large portion of the salary is thought to have been provided by third-party corporate sponsors, with the player's agent Greg Keenan at a corporate lunch hosted by the Force in Perth on Thursday.

When contacted by AAP, Keenan said he was aware of the report, but was not prepared to make any comment on Giteau's status.

No official statement has been made by either the Force, or Giteau's current club the ACT Brumbies, whose coach Laurie Fisher said earlier in the day he was resigned to losing the backline star.

"I guess where there's smoke there's fire," Fisher said before the report aired.

"I don't think it's ideal for Matthew for it to be drawn out ... so you'd like some conclusion reasonably soon."

The reported amounts involved in Giteau's contract have also sparked calls for the Australian Rugby Union to consider a player salary cap.

Brumbies chief executive Andrew ***an said the ARU should investigate the deal to stop player wages spiralling out of control.

"Although there is support for Matt in the corporate sector here, I think the figures being bandied about in WA are just so huge it has the potential to just blow the contracting process out of the water," ***an told the ABC.

"I certainly think mechanisms like a salary cap need to be looked at, and I think that I'd find support for that in both New South Wales and Queensland."

***an said it was becoming increasingly difficult for clubs to retain home grown talent.

"Our offer was comparable to those of the other states but the corporate sector's jumped in and just put an astronomical figure in front of Matt Giteau by way of sponsorship, and that certainly blows us out of the water," ***an said.

With Force coach John Mitchell having conceded the squad's depth is nowhere near what is required for Super 14, several players as well as Giteau have been linked with a move west.

Queensland Red Drew Mitchell has been touted as a possible transfer, along with potential rugby league converts Ryan Cross and Willie Tonga.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=96823
?AAP 2006


jesus...

[Steve Dangerous]

oh and the bleeped out name is F-a-g-a-n. It's getting censored by the forum swear filter lol.

[Social Loafer]

Did anyone know Giteau is a Raiders junior, good to see another League player doing well in the boring version of the game :laugh:

As for a salary cap, why didn't they suggest this when the mass raids on League players were going on....

[Go_The_Doggies]

Willie Tonga will NOT go to the force.

His talent would be wasted there.

If he's gunna go to union he could play with the tahs ... or some NZ team. Really the reds & the force arnt good enough.

6million dollars. Anyone would think hes Dan Carter or something :p:p

[Dakink]

What a phenomanal waste of money from a seriously top heavy sport. They are really running the risk of escalating payments to their elite, almost ensuring a League style salary cap in the future. No player is worth $6mill, especially a little injury prone back.


Matt the $4.5m man
By Rupert Guinness
April 22, 2006

AUSTRALIAN Rugby Union boss Gary Flowers yesterday flew to Perth to investigate alleged breaches by the Western Force over their aggressive recruiting strategies.

His move comes in the aftermath of yesterday's signing by Brumbies superstar Matt Giteau on a three-year contract with the Force worth an astounding $4.5 million.

Flowers confirmed last night that he will be calling on the Force to prove that they have followed the ARU's protocol on player recruitment, and warned that any proven breach of it will have ramifications.

The Giteau case is fuelling most of the interest in the issue. But Flowers said it is upon a formal request from the NSW Rugby Union this week to look into the courting of Waratahs second rower Al Kanaar that he has decided to investigate.

"There has been a formal complaint from NSW in relation of an alleged breach by the Force of the ARU protocol which each [state] chief executive has signed off on," Flowers said last night.

"If there is evidence then there will be an ARU tribunal held, and if they are guilty then there will be ramifications."

Depending on the outcome of his talks with Force officials, those ramifications could range from a fine, suspension or simply to a warning.

Even before news of Giteau's signing, it was clear as Flowers was en route to Perth - on a trip that was welcomed by the NSW, ACT and Queensland unions - that the Brumbies felt the inside back was already all but gone.

"Matt expressed to us his desire to stay, but that was challenged by a huge financial offer," Brumbies chief executive Andrew ***an told The Saturday Daily Telegraph during the day.

"If Matt Giteau is to go to the Western Force he is going purely for the third party dollars."

When informed that a source told The Saturday Daily Telegraph that the annual figure on offer to Giteau in the deal was close to an unprecedented $1.5 million a year, ***an said: "That wouldn't be too far from the truth."

Broken down, the offer to Giteau would be made up of $110,000 from the Force, $500,000 as an ARU top-up, $140,000 in Test fees should he play them all, and a $750,000 in third party sponsorship.

Flowers' trip to Perth was scheduled. But he had with him as extra luggage a fresh brief from the Brumbies to follow up on their concerns over the poaching policy and aggressive tactics of the fledgling Force side.

Adding to Flowers' burden was that he also had to follow up on a formal request from the NSW Rugby Union this week to look into the Force's courting of top Waratahs second rower Kanaar.

The ARU was asked to investigate the Force's courting after he was first seen in the background on a television sports bulletin in Perth.

"We found out about it this week. He was seen by a NSWRU official on Sports Tonight in Perth," NSWRU chief executive Fraser Neil said yesterday.

"Once we confirmed he was over there we wanted to find out what was going on. We had an understanding we had almost finalised a contract and were only needing to tie up loose ends.

"We want to find out what has happened."

Neil was shocked to learn about the $1.5 million offer to Giteau.

"If you are going to be true to your squad how can you justify figures like that," said Neil, adding that the sport could not sustain such massive offers being thrown about.

Putting more pressure on Flowers to take a stand on the Giteau case is that ARU board member Peter McGrath is also in Perth this weekend.

McGrath is also ACT Rugby chairman and travelled to Perth on the same plane as Flowers.

He is a representative of the collective and grave concerns are held by the Brumbies over the Force and their attempt to poach Giteau and other players at blow-out rates.

The Brumbies yesterday said they supported the call for an ARU inquiry by the NSWRU. "I am certainly supportive of Fraser in regards to Al Kanaar," said ***an.

But ***an said that he had also spoken to both the ARU's chief operations officer Rob Clarke and its contracts officer, Shaun Barry, about the ACT side's own misgivings. "Similarly, we have expressed concern over the rumours circulating about some of the third-party money that goes beyond Matt Giteau.

"If that speculation is true it would have me quite worried about the contracting process and some of the protocols.

"The alarm bells are ringing. We are very watchful and have asked the ARU to be similarly watchful when investigating.

"We don't want to be jumping in shadows too much, but it might be a case of where there is smoke there is fire."

Queensland rugby union chief executive Theo Psaros yesterday concurred with the outcries of their rival NSW and ACT unions.

Psaros said he was anxiously awaiting the outcome of Flowers' findings from his Perth trip.

"It is timely that he has gone to Perth," he said. "What the last 48 hours has done has highlighted what a farce the whole process is. It can't be sustainable. It will turn around and bite the sport."

The Daily Telegraph

The ARU are rightly investigating.

[Go_The_Doggies]

I think theres gunna be a salary cap type of thing in the Air New Zealand cup this year ... so it stops all the main players playing for one team ... yeh i cant really remember all the details as it was announced a while back....

[Steve Dangerous]

surely they could get a lot more for their money if they've got that much to throw around.

even so, i don't think they could buy a win at the moment :laugh:

[Go_The_Doggies]

They can buy a draw ffs!! So un expected. :mad:

[Steve Dangerous]

the reported figure seems to be coming down. in my article it says $6mill, in dakinks it has $4.5mill and in the paper today it was $3mill. inflated by media and rumour i would guess.

[Go_The_Doggies]

Thats still a heck of alot of money for 1 player.

They could have spent that money on more players and build their side up!!