So here's a little thread on the continued ignorance of a) some parts of our media and, of course, b) Geraint Powell. Paul Rees, sadly accelerating towards dinosaur status, claimed this week in the Guardian breakdown the following:

Of course, he's been lazy as his claim is untrue. Either he's been lazy or he can't add up, one of the two. As shown below: https://twitter.com/LTUSM/status/1288794175664721920?s=20

So now we have the narrative of "tail wagging dog" which is a stick used to beat the clubs with. Remember, the RFU relies on the employees of its clubs for 85% of its revenue:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/52546683

So the line between the dog and the tail is now muddied by something Rees didn't use in his analysis: facts. Isn't it funny how facts completely smash prejudice to pieces? Which, of course, takes the thread to Powell: Kind Prejudice. Here's his take on T14 clubs:

The legal threat is because World Rugby has decided it can decide when the businesses of the clubs can actually use their own employees and when they cannot, also known as the international window. Unsurprisingly, the clubs would like to play the players they pay. Bastards, eh?..

So, to bring more facts, let's see how much from the international game the French clubs receive. Here are some screen shots from the 2019 DNACG report. DNACG are the financial police of French rugby, regulated by the French Government. So actual facts, right?

The image below shows income into the French game. Lots of money, right? See the green bit? That shows 47% of their income comes from Sponsorship. The red bit is income from matches played. So we're already over 50%, right?

The orange bit in the image above was receipts from the League, including TV money and receipts from the European Cup. The breakdown of this money is shown in the image below - so concentrate on the "XV de France" column

So now you can see what each club (the tail) receives from the dog (the international game). Look at the biggest recipient: Clermont. Let's see the image below:

So, from the international game, ASM received €1,259,000 as part of their €35,792,000 budget. They also received €3,641,000 from their own domestic TV contract (so basically three times what the international game paid them).

So which is the tail and which is the dog?