Scots need no incentive

HONOUR and glory no longer sufficing now that international rugby union has gone overtly professional, the Welsh players will be on win bonuses of £1,750 each to halt Scotland on the third leg of their quest for the Grand Slam at Cardiff Arms Park on Saturday.

The Scots have no such direct incentive, however, and Rob Wainwright, their captain, suggested yesterday that it would, after all, be more traditional virtues that would be decisive. "The matter of Welsh win bonuses is irrelevant," he said. "Players don't think about money on the pitch at least I'm confident," Scotland don't, although I can't speak for the opposition.

In any event, the Scots believe themselves to have a better contractual deal than Saturday's opponents. Wainwright and his players are on £5,000 seasonal retainers plus a £3,000 match fee, though a further payment of up to £5,500 each is available depending on where Scotland finish in the championship. The basic Welsh match fee is £2,000, and there was no bonus when they lost at Twickenham 12 days ago.

Again, on the subject of money, Peter Wheeler, director of the newly-formed English Professional Rugby Union Clubs Limited, is hoping to bring the second division clubs into the new setup.

League two clubs delayed their commitment at a meeting on Tuesday.

Wheeler has spoken to Newcastle's Sir John Hall to discuss the second division teams' reluctance to sign up with the 10 top clubs. "We have resigned from the National Clubs Association," said Wheeler. "The NCA was for the amateur era. EPRUC is for the professional era.

Clubs in England intent on acquiring the best French talent - Olivier Roumat for Wasps? Abdel Benazzi for Northampton or Saracens? - may be interested to hear that France's new flanker Richard Castel intends using his introduction to international rugby as a means of finding a new club. "I want to show Toulou 59 what they have been missing," he said.

So the bidding starts here. Castel, 24, a final-year PE student, is unable to command a first-team place with the French champions, where his regular selection on the bench has raised doubts about his capacity to last the full 80 minutes in an international. Though he produced highly effective performances after taking the field against both Swansea and Cardiff in the European Cup semi-final and final, they were no more than 20-minute cameos.