Donal Lenihan: Rugby has never faced so many challenges for audience

The decision of French referee Mathieu Raynal to penalise Wallaby out-half Bernard Foley for time-wasting when Australia were protecting a three-point lead against the All Blacks represented the last straw

TIME-WASTING: 'If Raynal has set a precedence whereby teams will be penalised for gamesmanship or deliberate time wasting to slow down play, the game as a spectacle will benefit'. 

With another demanding season already up and running, the game has never faced so many challenges. The impact of the coronavirus pandemic has asked serious questions of the financial model on which the professional game is based, not least in England’s Gallagher Premiership, where the complete over-reliance on private benefactors with deep pockets is finally coming home to roost.

As an entity, the Premiership has accumulated combined losses of over £500m since its inception. Already this season we’ve seen Worcester Warriors go into liquidation while of the great English clubs, Wasps, have until next Monday to pay a tax bill of £2m to the Revenue or face a winding up order. The owners of three others - London Irish, Gloucester and Sale Sharks - have indicated that those clubs are also available for takeover should a reasonable offer present itself.