Developing young rugby players – is it worth it?

The recent transfer of Zeki Fryers from Manchester United to Standard Liege and then to Tottenham Hotspur has focused the spotlight on compensation payments paid to clubs for developing young talent in football. It also highlighted an interesting issue on the disparity in compensation payments between international and domestic transfers. No one can argue that if a sports club invests its time, expertise and money in training a young player that they want to keep but who decides to leave, some form of compensation should be paid. FIFA and the Premier League have mechanics in place for training compensation but do other sports reward clubs who are successful in developing young players? This blog looks at recent transfers in the AVIVA Premiership (rugby union’s top division in England) and the system in place in rugby union.