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ONE of the unintended consequences of the ARU's foreign player policy has enabled the Melbourne Rebels to recruit Kurtley Beale.
And it could help them sign James O'Connor to potentially build a Super Rugby dream team.
When the Western Force was admitted to an expanded Super 14 competition in 2006 the ARU, under the leadership of former chief executive Gary Flowers, did not provide the franchise with any recruiting concessions.
Fearing they would become a development team for the three other Australian sides -- the Brumbies, NSW Waratahs and Queensland Reds -- the Force, supported strongly by the Perth business community, launched an aggressive recruitment campaign on the east coast. The Reds, in particular, were hit hard.
When John O'Neill returned to the ARU as CEO in 2007, he was determined the Force scenario would not be repeated.
With Australia's player depth stretched to the limit, the ARU provided the Rebels with an important recruitment concession in relation to imports.
While the other four Australian sides were allowed to recruit two foreign players -- one marquee and one development -- the Rebels were given the freedom to sign 10 imports.
The twin reasons for this concession were to help to make the Rebels competitive in their first season and to reduce the need for them to raid the ranks of the other Australian sides.
It appears the ARU achieved its first objective, but not the second.
The Rebels' entry to Super Rugby has coincided with the ARU's introduction of a salary cap next year.
In the past the ARU has granted the Australian teams $4.3 million each from player-generated revenue, which is mainly TV broadcast money.
In the absence of an official salary cap, there was a gentlemen's agreement between the teams that they would not pay players more than $110,000 plus expenses with the exception of a wildcard player who could earn up to $220,000.
The new salary cap is $4.4m. Not only are the Rebels allowed 10 foreign players, but they are valued at $147,000 under the salary cap regardless of what Melbourne actually pays them.
The Rebels only have eight foreigners on their roster at the moment, but if they recruited 10 at $147,000, the total cost would be $1.47m, which would leave them with a pot of gold of $2.93m to attract just 20 Australian players to fill their 30-man roster.
This was how the Rebels were able to offer Beale $200,000 a year more than he could command at the Waratahs.
From 2013 when the salary cap is reduced to $4.1m the foreign players will be valued at $137,000, which means the Rebels would have a potential pot of $2.73m to sign their Australian quota.
This would still give the Rebels an advantage before their foreign player concession expires in 2016 and they are back to two imports like everyone else.
The Rebels' biggest issue is getting their inflated wages bill under control. It is estimated the Rebels have spent around $7m on players, which will make getting under the $4.4m salary cap quite a challenge. The word is the Rebels are looking to offload up to 10 players.
When the foreign player concession is withdrawn, the Rebels will still have the support of the Melbourne business community.
There are whispers that "Friends of the Rebels" are already trying to source third-party endorsements for James O'Connor. Who's next? David Pocock?
It was never intended this way, but the Rebels are starting to look uncannily like the Force did five years ago.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news...-1226039926885
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Originally Posted by beige
