English salary cap set to rise

Premier Rugby officials have confirmed there will be a review of the current salary cap for English Premiership clubs.

Premier Rugby officials have confirmed there will be a review of the current salary cap for English Premiership clubs.

The current squad cap for senior teams is £1.997 million and £110,000 for academies, but that will change after officials met yesterday.

It is understood the details of the changes will be announced once everything is fully agreed.

A report published yesterday suggested clubs would have an extra £250,000 to increase the size of their squads.

READ MORE

"We recognise that the size of squads needs to be larger, which is why clubs will have an extra £250,000 on top of the salary cap which will rise next season to more than £2million," said the chief executive of Premier Rugby, Howard Thomas.

The move is believed to allow clubs to bolster their squads to allow international players rest between important fixtures.

"A three-year study has been commissioned into the issue of burnout and the welfare of players has to be of paramount importance," Thomas said.

"There have been a number of high-profile injuries, but it is not clear whether they are related to the number of games an individual plays: in the cases of Jonny Wilkinson and Mike Tindall, for example, it would appear not.

"We want each club to have a squad of 40 players and the extra money being made available should help them achieve that."

Meanwhile, Leeds Rhinos half back Danny McGuire yesterday dismissed any prospect of following his Britain rugby league side captain Andy Farrell into rugby union by signing a new five-year contract with the Super League champions.

The 22-year-old McGuire, who scored 39 tries in the Rhinos' championship-winning season in 2004, has signed a two-year extension to his existing deal which will keep him at Headingley at least until the end of the 2009 season.

"I'm a Leeds lad and it was a boyhood dream to play for Leeds," McGuire said. "I'm really happy that my future is settled and I can concentrate on playing good rugby.

"I'm a rugby league lad through and through. Rugby union is probably not my type of game. This club is going places and I want to build on what happened last year.

"I have ambitions with Great Britain, having had a taste of international rugby league at the end of last year. I definitely want to take on the Australians and beat them."

Yesterday's announcement comes less than a week after it was revealed that Wigan loose forward Farrell is considering a switch to union.

Leeds chief executive Gary Hetherington insisted the announcement was not related but described it as a "statement of intent".

"There has been speculation and this now ends that speculation," he said. "This is a significant announcement for Leeds Rhinos and rugby league.

"To know that Danny is going to be within the game for such a length of time will give great comfort to rugby league fans generally and Leeds Rhinos in particular."