Simon Halliday is new 'independent' chair of European Rugby Champs Cup

Independent of what?

Good to see Rees is on the job anyway

Simon Halliday given role with European Professional Club Rugby
• Former England centre to chair Champions Cup governing body



The former England centre Simon Halliday, whose name is invariably linked when the job of Rugby Football Union chief executive falls vacant, has returned to the game as the first independent chairman of the governing body for the European Rugby Champions Cup.

Halliday will start the part-time position, which carries a salary of about £40,000 a year, next week, charged with helping European Professional Club Rugby shape its strategy and increase its revenue after a first year in which only one major partner signed up, Heineken.

“The growth of European rugby over the last few years has been remarkable,” said Halliday, who won two grand slams with England before having a successful career in banking as well as a stint with the RFU. “I hope my years of rugby experience on and off the pitch, combined with a lifetime career in finance, will benefit EPCR as the organisation grows.”

EPCR will be headed by a former Coca-Cola executive, Vincent Gaillard, who will start work in July as the director general. He joins from SportAccord, which like EPCR, is based in Switzerland, where he is chief executive.

“Vincent and Simon will bring a wealth of commercial expertise and administrative experience to us as well as a strong understanding of the business of sport as we move forward into a new phase for the professional club game in Europe,” said Paul McNaughton, EPCR’s interim chairman.

Halliday won two grand slams with England and was a member of the squad that reached the World Cup final in 1991. One of his successors in the midfield, Billy Twelvetrees, will on Friday lead Gloucester in the final of the European Challenge Cup on Halliday’s old stamping ground, the Stoop, where they will face Edinburgh.

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/apr/29/simon-halliday-european-professional-club-rugby-champions-cup

Dr Donal O'Shea (consultant endocrinologist and Director of the Weight Management Clinic and Conor's brother) will be rightly peed off with a former Coca-Cola exec. running European Rugby.

Sin é wrote:

Dr Donal O'Shea (consultant endocrinologist and Director of the Weight Management Clinic and Conor's brother) will be rightly peed off with a former Coca-Cola exec. running European Rugby.

Why? He's also been involved more recently with SportAccord.

I'd agree about the use of the word "independent" in the middle of a sentence describing a man tasked with chairing a board involving the six nations and a number of club representatives as a former England player, and a regular perceived contender for the head of the English RFU - almost an oxymoron. Paul Mcnaughton is the interim Chair and he wouldn't be regarded as an independent.

This new CEO will have to find sponsors and no doubt he will be knocking on the door of his former employers.

Donal O'Shea took a right swipe at Brian O'Driscoll for being a Coca Cola ambassador on the Late Late Show. He also had a go at Conor about drinking Powerade at games. Powerade told Conor he could drink water out of a Powerade bottle, but he had to be seen to be drinking from a Powerade bottle - it seems Powerade pay for product placement.

Wouldn't you know - Halliday has 170 caps for Bath! This lot have absolutely no integrity what soever. Talk about being brazen.

40 grand a year for a chairman in Switzerland ?? Is that really all or is this a part time job?

I guess that's it settled:  The Coca Cola Champions Cup it will be.

The CCCC .... or The 4C.

Yes, whocares.  It is 'part time'  

In Switzerland that means he'll get half his salary (the 40 grand) through proper taxable channels.... and the other half (some 2 or 3 hundred grand) will be paid through a new banking algorithm that keeps the money mobile enough as to be untraceable.

whocares wrote:40 grand a year for a chairman in Switzerland ?? Is that really all or is this a part time job?

Part-time job. Probably one of the reasons the ERC was removed from Dublin. To avail of Sporting Tax Exemptions, directors cannot receive payment, only expenses. I'd imagine the former French chairman (Lux) found that a bit annoying

whocares wrote:40 grand a year for a chairman in Switzerland ?? Is that really all or is this a part time job?

That's what it's officially capped at although maybe someone like Bruce Craig will make a charitable donation?

Tool requirements for the Job:

Suit.

Maybe two.

Expense account for travel and eating and golf playing and theatre going.

Sweeping Brush.

Instead of Halliday, who would you have gone for?

Let me see..... ....hmmmmmmm..... who else ........

Henry Kissinger. He's still alive. A long history of getting things done at boardroom and underground car-park level.

Ian McGeechan might have been a good choice.....

What isn't clear to me is why Halliday is listed as 'independent' by the OP. Is he suggesting that Halliday is not independent? Is this because he hails from perfidious Albion?

lostinwales wrote:What isn't clear to me is why Halliday is listed as 'independent' by the OP. Is he suggesting that Halliday is not independent? Is this because he hails from perfidious Albion?

Well given that the ERC office being based in Dublin was a good enough reason for the English and French to complain.... yeah. 'Bias' and all that potential, you know. Like an Irish ref reffing a Welsh Regional game.... presumed Bias.

An Italian, with a Japanese father and a Bolivian mother should have been picked.

lostinwales wrote:What isn't clear to me is why Halliday is listed as 'independent' by the OP. Is he suggesting that Halliday is not independent? Is this because he hails from perfidious Albion?

For a chairman to be independent, it should be someone who has no rugby/business association with any of the Unions or Clubs. Halliday is doubly linked to clubs & RFU.

They really must think we are thick if they think we will swallow this one:

The former England centre Simon Halliday, whose name is invariably linked when the job of Rugby Football Union chief executive falls vacant, has returned to the game as the first independent chairman of the governing body for the European Rugby Champions Cup.

Its the claim that he is 'independent' is what is offensive about this appointment. There was an awful lot of weeping and gnashing of teeth with the former Frenchman who was chair (Lux) because of his suppose lack of independence from FFR.

My idea of an independent chair would be someone like Seb Coe (knows a bit about sport, but experienced in boardroom).

Sin é wrote:Its the claim that he is 'independent' is what is offensive about this appointment. There was an awful lot of weeping and gnashing of teeth with the former Frenchman who was chair (Lux) because of his suppose lack of independence from FFR.

My idea of an independent chair would be someone like Seb Coe (knows a bit about sport, but experienced in boardroom).

I thought it was because he was seen as a bit of a . Can't remember anything about him being too close to the FFR (but then so much was said it that period I wouldn't be surprised if I blocked a lot of it out.

Who appointed him? Was the it the board? The one which is basically the same as it was under the ERC?

HammerofThunor wrote:
Who appointed him? Was the it the board? The one which is basically the same as it was under the ERC?

The same?  Hardly the same.  Clubs  much more influence now in the 'detail'.  Basically we're all forgetting it took two world wars to get us to this point.  There were winners and losers.  It wasn't a pleasant chat over a smoke that created all of this new Europe. It was never designed to be a win win scenario for everyone.  This is one of the perks of winning I guess.

Lux is a pal of Camou. Contrary to whatever is claimed here, the ERC was run by Frenchmen, not Irishmen. And you (English & Welsh) have played right into their hands.

SecretFly wrote:

HammerofThunor wrote:
Who appointed him? Was the it the board? The one which is basically the same as it was under the ERC?

The same?  Hardly the same.  Clubs  much more influence now in the 'detail'.  Basically we're all forgetting it took two world wars to get us to this point.  There were winners and losers.  It wasn't a pleasant chat over a smoke that created all of this new Europe.  It was never designed to be a win win scenario for everyone.  This is one of the perks of winning I guess.

More control over the commercial aspects. The board that runs it is the same.

Sin é wrote:Lux is a pal of Camou. Contrary to whatever is claimed here, the ERC was run by Frenchmen, not Irishmen. And you (English & Welsh) have played right into their hands.

In what way?

HammerofThunor wrote:

SecretFly wrote:

HammerofThunor wrote:
Who appointed him? Was the it the board? The one which is basically the same as it was under the ERC?

The same? Hardly the same. Clubs much more influence now in the 'detail'. Basically we're all forgetting it took two world wars to get us to this point. There were winners and losers. It wasn't a pleasant chat over a smoke that created all of this new Europe. It was never designed to be a win win scenario for everyone. This is one of the perks of winning I guess.

More control over the commercial aspects. The board that runs it is the same.

More control over commercial aspects,.... in Professional rugby in a professional world, 'commercial aspects' are the hands on the tiller, Hammer. More control period, in short.

Like I said, to the victors the spoils. I don't personally mind who is Chairman. It's not who is in charge but how they influence the path to the future. I'll keep a close eye on where European rugby goes or tries to go in the next few years.

It doesn't vote in a chairman.