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Not sure it's entirely relevant either
I did enjoy their recent wins in Europe with the majority of the England team...
And there's the relevance the RFU, potentially, willingly taking advantage of what you call.
largely well-meaning mismanagement
And what Ugo Monte calls "financial doping". To take advantage of the core of the England team playing and training together week in week out.
Bobbo-
Which only brings them somewhere close to a level playing field with ireland/Japan/Argentina/Scotland etc! I don't really see that as a significant angle here.
The difference of perspective between Venter and Monye is clear - and pretty much the two extremes from which people will view this. I'm certainly not siding with Venter, and without more transparency it's impossible for anyone to take a clear-minded view, although from the perspective of the other clubs in the league Monye's is by far the more reasonable position...
owl
Can't imagine we'll ever find that out. Not sure it's entirely relevant either, as you say, they are different entities and their priorities are entirely unaligned.
Worth listening to the Brendan Venter interview on the latest edition of the BBC rugby pod. I mean, he's clearly a massive Sarries apologist and he can obfuscate better than anyone else in the game but he does present another 'visual' for this situation that provides an interest contrast. As with everything, the reality probably falls somewhere in the middle, but I think I probably fall on the side of largely well-meaning mismanagement and a very stubborn reluctance to see their homegrown players leave rather than a calculated and coordinated systematic cheating. But I may very well be wrong and would certainly feel differently if I were an Exeter fan. I'm not a Sarries fan either, btw, but I did enjoy their recent wins in Europe with the majority of the England team...