Mark Cueto on Worcester's plight, why more can be done and how England are shaping up for France 2023
Mark Cueto has been on the playing and commercial side at Premiership club Sale Sharks
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A year which contains a Women's World Cup in New Zealand and the showpiece event for the men in France - combined with high-quality domestic and international rugby - was something everyone connected to the sport should have been positive about at the start of this season.
With wall-to-wall rugby for basically the next 12 months, it would have been easy for us to be swept up by the excitement and anticipation of what lies ahead, but the doom and gloom which currently surrounds Premiership Rugby is unfortunately inescapable.
On Monday evening, Worcester Warriors were placed into administration. The Rugby Football Union confirmed the club were suspended from all competitions after failing to meet a 5pm deadline to provide evidence of 'insurance cover, availability of funds to meet the monthly payroll, and a credible plan to take the club forward.'
Worcester could now face a points deduction and relegation to the Championship, but that can be avoided if they can prove no-fault insolvency.
The situation the Warriors find themselves in has been a culmination of weeks of financial turmoil which began with a winding-up petition over an unpaid tax bill last month. The club's total debts are reportedly £25m.
Considering the backdrop, Worcester's on-pitch display against Newcastle Falcons last weekend was nothing short of remarkable. Steve Diamond, his players and the club's staff have shown an incredible strength of togetherness throughout this tumultuous period and Mark Cueto, who worked with the Warriors boss during his tenure at Sale Sharks, could only express his disappointment.
"I think it is just a real shame," Cueto tells TRU. "You don't want any clubs to be in this position. People have got to pay mortgages. They have got families, partners, sons and daughters to look after and it is a nightmare scenario for them.
"On the bigger picture, it is just bad for the game. We are constantly trying to attract new audiences and attract young people to what we know is a brilliant game, but this is just another negative story which people see. More needs to be done. So many people work so hard to make the game what it is so overall, it is just a real shame."
Following his successful playing career, Cueto became the Commercial Director at Sale. Having been on both sides of the table, he believes there are a few different ways to avoid teams like Worcester - and also Wasps who last week expressed their intentions to appoint administrators to 'protect the club's interests' - being faced with similar situations.
"I have been on either side of the table as a player and obviously working in the commercial side, there is such a big imbalance between the expenditure on the playing side and the revenue that is coming in through the various streams whether that is from Premiership Rugby, ticket sales, sponsorship and essentially it is simple maths," Cueto says.
"If you're spending more as a business than you're bringing in, then in the majority of cases, it is only down to the generosity of the owners and the love they have for the game and the money that they have put in to balance the books at the end of every season.
"Nobody wants to reduce salaries of the players, but essentially that is the only thing you can do until the commercial revenue is at a point where it has increased, and as a business, you can afford the players more. Chipping salaries and stuff I think would be hard but I think that is one of the ways it can go but more must be done to stop that overall imbalance."
With the salary cap already reduced in the Premiership, the fear is some top-flight stars may be attracted to pastures new. The decision by Exeter Chiefs' Sam Simmonds to move to France highlights this but the No.8 was still named in England's recent 36-man training squad despite joining Top 14 outfit Montpellier next summer.
Under the current eligibility rules for England, it means Simmonds won't be allowed to play for his country at next year's World Cup while the other headline news from Jones' first squad announcement of the season included the omission of experienced names such as Danny Care, Henry Slade and Kyle Sinckler and the selection of fit-again Manu Tuilagi.
"Manu, who we all know well, it is great to see him get through two games [in the Premiership] and still be healthy," Cueto adds. "World Cup year, anything can happen. No matter who you are and whatever your name, you haven't got your spot guaranteed until you are on that plane. It always adds an extra excitement when it is a World Cup year."
Two players who have been named in Jones' plans are Northampton Saints scrum-half Alex Mitchell and London Irish wunderkid Henry Arundell. Cueto watched the former against Sale in their opening game of the Premiership season and has been impressed with the 25-year-old while on Arundell, the World Cup finalist feels consistency will be crucial to his progress.
"Mitchell at Saints, he has been around a few years now and has been selected into that England squad already in the past but never quite sort of concreted his place," Cueto says. "We know how good of a player he is and as you say, he's got off to a really good and lively start to the season.
"I suppose that is one of the positions that when you think about the England team, there is obviously Ben Youngs but Danny Care seems to have dropped out of the fold so there is certainly one if not two spots up for grabs at the moment.
"As for Arundell, he has got that excitement. He can sort of do something from nothing and create tries that some players can only dream of. For me, and I don't want to be critical or negative, but he has still got a couple of errors in his game that I think he needs to tighten up before he is really ready for that international stage.
"Whereas if you look at [Freddie] Steward, if you can produce an 8.5 performance out of 10 every game, then you have got a better chance of getting selected at international level than someone that may produce a 12 out of 10 one game, but equally may produce a two out of 10."
Less than 12 months to go until the World Cup, England's final block of preparations get underway in November when they face Argentina and Japan (two teams Jones' side will come up against in the pool stages in France) as well as New Zealand and South Africa at Twickenham.
Cueto feels a welcomed series win over Australia in the summer will have created confidence within the England camp but admits as a player in such a big year, you have to focus on the here and now rather than looking ahead to the showpiece event at the end of the season.
"I think all players are the same," the former England international adds. "Obviously, the World Cup is in the back of your mind but it genuinely isn't something you give too much thought to. You have got the autumn internationals that are a month or so away so that is your priority even more than the Six Nations or the World Cup.
"You live your life in weeks as a rugby player and it is all about the next game. You can't influence what is going to happen in six to 12 months' time. You can only influence what is happening at a weekend.
"It is like if you're going away with England and you know you're meeting up next week but you have got to play one more game for your club, you can't go out and play at 60 per cent with the thought of not getting injured because you will get injured. You have just got to go out and play your normal game and it will look after itself."
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