Staring into the abyss? The state of UK rugby's Super League

Wilson, Robert; Plumley, Daniel; Barrett, David M.

doi:10.1080/23750472.2016.1141367

Cited by 18 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…This logic doesn't follow in the business of sport and, at least from an off-field point of view, teams need to coexist to form competitive leagues which can attract fans and sponsors. Indeed, as Vrooman (2015) and Wilson et al (2015) indicate, according to received theory, the perfect game will be a symbiotic contest between equally matched opponents. The practical economic problem is that professional sports leagues form imperfectly competitive natural cartels where games are played between teams with asymmetric market power (Vrooman, 2015).…”

Section: The Economic Theory Of Professional Sports Leaguesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Regardless of the theoretical model employed, professional team sports remain heavily linked to the concepts of uncertainty of outcome, competitive balance and profit and utility maximisation (e.g. Buraimo, et al, 2015;Fort, 2015;Kesenne, 2015;Leach and Szymanski, 2015;Sloane, 2015;Vrooman, 2015) with the success of professional team sports themselves now being linked to financial and sporting performance which appear to be inextricably linked (see Wilson et al, 2015).…”

Section: The Economic Theory Of Professional Sports Leaguesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Rugby League itself was also facing financial issues. As Wilson et al (2015) indicate, the 1990's were a picture of run down grounds, poor facilities and financial depression, compounded with a lack of interest. Most clubs in the sister code also had spiralling wage bills, income remained static and there remained a reliance on the governing body to pull in sponsorship deals and negotiate TV broadcasting rights packages.…”

Section: Elite Rugby Union In Englandmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 Structurally rugby union was to be different from its Super League counterparts. Unlike the closed league system adopted in the northern game where they had scrapped relegation and promotion in favour of a licensed system (Wilson et al, 2015), rugby union would provide an open system more aligned to the football premiership. Teams would be promoted and relegated based on their on-pitch performances and points accumulation.…”

Section: Elite Rugby Union In Englandmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Shibli and Wilkinson-Riddle, 1997) and rugby league (e.g. Wilson et al, 2015). There is a lack of literature available on the financial health of rugby union aside from a small number of related papers (e.g.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Different shaped ball, same financial problems? A holistic performance assessment of English Rugby Union (2006-2015)

Wilson

Plumley

2017

SBM

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Purpose Rugby union’s late move to professionalism in 1995 has led to concerns about the financial development of the game. The purpose of this paper is to extend the knowledge base on professional team sports in the UK by analysing the financial and sporting performance of rugby union clubs. Design/methodology/approach Data were obtained by dissecting the annual accounts of nine English Premiership rugby clubs between 2006 and 2015. Analysis was performed using the performance assessment model, which analyses both financial and sporting areas of performance and is devised through statistical analysis procedures to provide a holistic measure of overall performance for each club. Findings There is financial disparity amongst clubs that has widened over the period of the study. In terms of sporting performance, the data suggest that competition is more equal, something that is less evident in other UK professional team sports such as football and rugby league. Correlation analysis reveals that overall performance varies over time in cycles. Research limitations/implications The study has implications for the clubs competing in the English Premiership and for the league organisers themselves, particularly with reference to regulatory procedures such as raising the salary cap and increased broadcasting deals. Originality/value The paper has demonstrated the importance of balancing multiple performance objectives in professional team sports and has expanded the academic discussion on the financial health of professional team sports in the UK, particularly with reference to the financial health of rugby union where research has historically been scarce.

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Section: The Economic Theory Of Professional Sports Leaguesmentioning

confidence: 99%