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Concussion in sport is an important issue. My article below looks at the background to the concussion case pursued by former rugby union players and provides an update on the current position. 🏉 👇 👇 👇 🏉 #concussion #rugby #sportsinjury #geldards

🏉🧑⚖️ A very interesting piece discussing the Restraint of Trade doctrine and anticompetitive behaviour in the context of professional rugby. The ability for players to be selected to represent their country when playing overseas is a point of discussion that is being raised more often than ever, particularly in New Zealand as more and more players look overseas for greater ¥€£$ and experiences. On a similar topic: Looking to the future ➡️ of Super Rugby and the ongoing discussions of what the competition could look like in the years to come: ▶️ Would removing some control that NZR currently has over the Super Franchises foster a greater level of competition? ▶️Is the extent of control NZR has over the Super franchises and All Black players during Super season arguably anti-competitive? ▶️ Would a shift from central contracting to greater privatisation foster greater competition for player signatures and revenue streams? ▶️Could a draft system bridge the talent gap between franchises? Anyone who has been involved in sport knows that competition is healthy… food for thought 💭

World Rugby to limit influence of lawyers World Rugby plans to overhaul the red card disciplinary system and restrict any advantage enjoyed by richer nations who can employ expensive lawyers. Standard bans of two or four weeks are to be handed down for red cards during a trial in the Under-20 World Championship, WXV and Pacific Nations Cup. World Rugby's plan recognises the difference between a rugby incident (punished by a ban of two weeks) and reckless conduct such as a shoulder charge (four weeks). The governing body expects 70% of all disciplinary cases to trigger one of the two automatic bans, reducing substantially any influence of lawyers on the outcome of disciplinary hearings. World Rugby wants to remove any perception of the disciplinary system being rigged against developing nations.

Here is a short article I have written regarding the RFU's current policy of not selecting overseas-based players for the England Rugby team. Following the recent controversy over the rule, as a number of current England stars move overseas, the piece considers whether the policy could be considered a restraint of trade and/or anti-competitive, and therefore susceptible to a legal challenge. It is a multi-faceted issue, but one which would appear to have significant harmful effects for English players (and their agents), as well as the wider rugby ecosystem. The article therefore concludes that the policy may well be legally challengeable. Let me know what you think. #SportsLaw #Rugby #EnglandRugby

Who will get the Lions' share?... (See also: https://lnkd.in/gFZ32_Tj ) "The British & Irish Lions has today announced details of a new player agreement which will see players selected for the 2025 Tour to Australia benefit from a PROFIT SHARE MODEL for the 1st time. The agreement will see the creation of a new partnership model whereby a PORTION OF THE DISTRIBUTABLE POST-TOUR PROFITS will be made available for sharing between players..." However this PORTION may be much less than 100%. And DISTRIBUTABLE POST-TOUR PROFITS may be much less than Total Profits. And Total Profits may be much less than Total Revenue Generated from the tour. So ideally, to maximize remuneration for their work input, players would negotiate additional payments as proportions (say of total series match minutes played) of Total Revenue Generated from future tours. However, the new current agreement does suggest a significant step improvement in player bargaining power, and move to greater incentivization and potentially performance of Lions players....(Wallabies watch out...) https://lnkd.in/gnvq_4bJ

🏆 The Rugby Championship kicks off today, and we at Reportabl.Sports are excited to see the new law variations in action. World Rugby continues to innovate, making The Rugby Championship and rugby as a whole even more entertaining for fans. 🏉 Last year’s Rugby Championship averaged 35 minutes and 21 seconds of Ball In Play time. With these new law variations, we’re keen to see if this figure increases 📈 Here’s a summary of the Law Variations being used: Red Card: Deliberate and highly dangerous foul play results in a full red card, with the offending player unable to return or be replaced. For other red cards, the player is removed for 20 minutes and can be replaced afterwards. The rationale is to punish the individual, not the game, for red card offences. Goal Kicks: 60 seconds (down from 90 seconds). The goal is to speed up the restart of the game. Protection of the Nine: At the base of the Scrum, Ruck, and Maul. This aims to ensure the ball is played away cleanly from the phase without disruption. Lineout Throws: Play continues if not straight, provided the throw is uncontested. This prevents unnecessary stoppages where no material offence has occurred. Let’s see how these changes shape the game! #Analysis #Data #RugbyUnion #CompetitiveEdge #ElevatePerformance

As a rugby fan it is pleasing to see that Wasps, London Irish and Worcester are looking to make a return to Championship Rugby, which will no doubt see them push for promotion into the Premiership. I think this has the potential to be big for the finances of top flight rugby, additionsl teams would bring additional matches leading to more money through match day income, TV rights and so on. The finances of top flight rugby have been subject to scrutiny of late and whilst I am sure things are going on behind the scenes in a bid to make clubs more viable there has been limited outward press that could allay concerns of fans. However, a lot is going to depend upon whether the top tier expands back to 12 or more teams to accommodate this or if it remains in its current ten team format with the newly introduced promotion and relegation playoff. Depending upon how this season turns out there is a possibility that the Championship next season contains one current Premiership team and the three phoenix clubs all vying for one promotion spot. This could turn into an arms race and that has the potential to be detrimental to long term prospects of a club if they spend big money in search of the top flight only to fall short. As we have seen multiple times in the football league the consequences of this can result in an insolvency process. Whilst the financial stakes are arguably lower in rugby, as the recent insolvencies have shown these carry a significant impact on not just the club but the wider rugby union ecosphere.

As the #SixNations continues this weekend, it is the perfect time to revisit this article from Intellectual Property Litigation Partner Bill Lister who quite literally changed the face of international rugby on a previous case #Rugby #IntellectualProperty #BoutiqueLawFirm

Rugby's Breakaway League: A Legal Perspective 🏉 My initial analysis of the reported breakaway league in rugby union, considering three key legal hurdles which may need to be overcome if such a competition is to get off the ground: 1) Would World Rugby sanction the competition, and would their authorisation be required? 2) Would players remain eligible to play international rugby if they joined the breakaway league? 3) What would happen to players’ existing contracts? Let me know what you think. #Rugby #WorldRugby #SportsLaw

In a recent post, I stated the financial imbalance between Premiership Rugby, United Rugby Championship & The #Top14, driven by media rights that are considerably greater in favour of the #French League, will see the conitunued outflow of British Players to #France to seek greater renumeration. It's pretty much 101 #supplyanddemand #ecomomics. However, there is a further underlining issue that is much more difficult for the #PremiershipRugby to rectify that puts them at a long-term competitive disadvantage. Over the last couple of decades with heathly promotion and relegation, we've seen the emergence of well-financed 'large-market' city clubs, evenly distributed across France, rise to the top of the #Top14, while many of the traditional 'smaller-town' South-West clubs now residing in #ProD2 or even below. Whereas, the #English league has, for all intents and purposes, become a pseudo ‘closed league’, with clubs residing in the smaller towns or city suburds. The #Premiership has no representation in many of the major city markets, leading to a geographical non-profit maximization scenario. In simple terms if you were starting from scratch Club's would ideally be evenly spread across all the major city markets, in order to maximise the league's audience and revenue potential. The ownership and governance structure of the #Premeriship, where incumbent clubs, along with CVC Capital Partners, own the league and make all the decisions, will naturally, lean strongly towards promoting the continuation of the status quo in terms of it's club representation. Turkeys are not going to vote for Christmas! It therefore seems logical to assume, with this along the media rights disparity, the English are in danger of being in a long-term state of systemic negative competitive imbalance in relation to their French counterparts and number one competitors. #Rugby #SportsEconomics #EnglandRugby #FrenchRugby #economics #sportseconomy #CVC #privatequity #competition England Rugby FFR - Fédération Française de Rugby Ligue Nationale de Rugby European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) World Rugby Rugby Europe Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) WRU - Welsh Rugby Union Scottish Rugby