The Right To Ruck

During the offseason a debate arose over a Championship (SM-sarja) team’s right to make use of players from the Finnish Cup (now Division 1). Plenty of strong views were expressed on both sides of the argument, but the recent Championship match between Helsinki RC and Eagles RFC from Turku highlighted the fact that the issue is far from settled.

The men at the heart of the incident were players from Division 1 West leaders, and last season’s Finnish Cup champions, Rauma Ice Pack (RIP). RIP have enjoyed an increasingly close tie with Turku over recent years - in large part due to the proximity of the two cities, which has allowed for pre- and post-season friendly matches. Yet Turku were unable to include RIP players in their squad when they travelled to Helsinki recently due to their opponents refusing their consent, despite other Championship teams having given their consent to Turku’s use of RIP players. With the clear rise of lower division rugby in Finland, Ruck Tales asks whether it is time to make a change to the eligibility rules.

Firstly some background: there is a strict 2-part law governing whether a Division 1-registered player can play for a side in the Championship:
The Division 1 player in question must not have already represented another Championship side in the current season, AND
The other team must give their consent to the player’s involvement.

Bear in mind that these rules do not apply when a club (such as Eagles in Turku, Helsinki RC and Warriors RC) has a team in both the Championship and Division 1. Rather it applies if a player from an external club (for example RIP) wishes to represent another club’s Championship team.

We have now come to a crossroads in Finnish rugby: whereas previously there has been a sizeable difference in standards between the Championship and Division 1, recent matches have shown that the gap has diminished, in some cases to the brink of invisibility. We would argue that RIP, given a little more practice at playing 15s, would challenge any Championship side. At the same time their Division 1 West rivals, Pori, have produced some sparkling performances which earned several of their young players places in Tampere’s squad in their recent match against Eagles. In the East, Porvoo recently earned their first tournament win and in the North Kuopio ground out their first ever win over Vaasa. In short, everyone is improving – so what’s the big problem?

The problem comes when we turn to the issue of building on this fantastic development. Though Division 1 North consists of standard matches, Div 1 East and West still employ mini-tournament formats, made up of shorter matches and almost always played as 10-a-side (with the occasional possibility of 12s). It is safe to say that the structure of Division 1 will not change any time soon: despite talk of a promotion/relegation system between Div 1 and the Championship, such an arrangement would only benefit the winner of Division 1, leaving the rest of the developing clubs facing another frustrating season of 10s. Much as many would like to simply promote more teams to the Championship, it is simply not a realistic option: the summer schedule is already full, with rugby taking up the majority of summer Saturdays – there is simply no more room!

(Photo by Rod McCracken - Rising stars: Division 1 sides are highly competitive and not just side-acts)

When we confine emerging talent to situations where they can only play 10s, certain problems are going to arise, regardless of how talented the individual is: front rows will not experience the pressures of 8-man scrums, forwards experience fewer lineout options, backs are far less focused on positioning and players are moulded to a defensive structure more akin to 7s than the 15-man game. Giving these players the chance to play in the Championship provides them with the experience to take their game to the next level, jerking them out of their comfort zone and providing additional match time. Linked to this is the need to exploit the talent we have while we have it. Several Division 1 players have already represented the National Team, with a further handful under consideration for the coming international season, and there is still plenty of time for more players to make an impression. Keeping talented players boxed in Div 1 kills the chance for them to stake a claim to greater things.

The counter-argument to all this has been consistent from those clubs who cling to the current laws, especially dealing with cases such as Turku: because Turku have teams registered in both competitions, logic should dictate that Turku have a large pool of players and any players registered to Turku should therefore be used ahead of players from external clubs. Using external players, they argue, puts those clubs without links to another Division 1 team at a disadvantage. 
While these are valid points, consider also how much of an advantage a team is really getting. In almost all cases, external players will not have trained with the team they are helping, meaning that they are often out of sync with the game plan, set pieces and styles of their teammates; in a tight game such a lack of cohesion could be the fatal difference between victory and defeat. More often than not, what you get when using an external player is their raw skill and nothing more. 

We should point out that this article is not intended as an attack on Helsinki RC for their decision to refuse consent to Turku. They played by the laws and made a tactical decision – Eagles have no right to complain. Instead this is a plea for change: abolish the law requiring the consent of the opposition and make top level rugby more accessible to all players in Finland. It seems to us that the benefits of the free use of players far outweigh the drawbacks and with competitive development still the focal point of Finnish rugby, why continue with a law which can only hinder it?