Harlequins fly-half Marcus Smith warns that the Premiership must change to avoid a player exodus and admits that he wants to experience a different league.
The England playmaker says he has unfinished business at Harlequins but is open to a move to another league during his career.
Plans for the future
“I’m still early on in my career. Obviously, I want to experience different cultures; I want to play in different leagues,” said Smith ahead of Saturday’s ‘Big Summer Kick-Off’ match against Bath at Twickenham.
“But I’ll do that when the time’s right for me, my family, my girlfriend and in my development as a rugby player and as a person as well.
“But at the minute, I’m loving playing in the Premiership, I’m loving playing for Harlequins, and I guess we’ll see what happens in the future.”
His contract with Harlequins expires in June 2024, and he is already drawing interest from France.
However, the 24-year-old is focused on his immediate concern of reversing Quins’ recent slide in form and rivalling Owen Farrell for the starting England jersey.
Although he is keen to stay on at Harlequins for the time being, many of his England teammates will be crossing the channel next season, namely, Luke Cowan-Dickie, David Ribbans, Joe Marchant, Sam Simmonds and Jack Nowell.
Competing with the Top 14 clubs
Smith believes that more creative marketing in the Premiership as well as the scheduled salary cap increase from £5 million to £6.4 million next year, could help reverse the player exodus.
“If you look across to the Top 14, you see the dominance they have in Europe. For me, that’s mainly down to the salary cap,” he said.
“If they’ve got more resources and finances to build their squads, then they’re probably going to be in a better position to win those tournaments.”
He added that he hopes to win the Champions Cup during his career but that doing at a Premiership club is significantly harder than with a Top 14 side.
“I’ve never personally been further than the round of 16. When I was younger, I wrote in my book that I want to win the Heineken Cup. To do that here in England is extremely tough, and for me the, that’s a big draw,” Smith explained.
“Two clubs have folded (Wasps and Worcester), which is never a good sign for the game in the Premiership.
“You see the viewing numbers in France rising. The number of people watching games over there is a different level to us, and there are avenues the Premiership can go down.
“I’m biased, but I think Quins are playing a big part with games like ‘Big Game’ and ‘Big Summer Kick-Off’.
“A bit of variation in the game of rugby, which is so traditional, might entice a different audience to come and watch our games.
“That hopefully leads to better grassroots participation, an increase in the salary cap, better teams and hopefully European titles coming back to England.”
Salary caps
According to sources at Premiership Rugby, the gap in spending power of Premiership and Top 14 clubs in 2024 will be narrowed to around £1 million.
Allowances, credits, and the Premiership salary cap increase is set to raise the actual spend to around £8.3 million. The Top 14 cap is set at £9.2 million.
There is an ongoing dispute about the money available for the top England players; there is a universal agreement that there needs to be fewer domestic and Test clashes.
“I’m only able to pay for England because of Harlequins. It’s ironic that you play well for your club, you go away, and you miss more games,” Smith said.
“Speaking to other players across the league, they’re all desperate to play for their club as well as England.
“So if there’s a compromise that can be made, then both parties will benefit – and not just the league, but the individuals, too.”
READ MORE: Seven player movements: Billy Twelvetrees, Stuart McInally, Dave Kearney and more
Click Here: FC Bayern München soccer tracksuit