Tonks undone by the `P' word

RUGBY UNION There we were thinking the end of the world - sorry, amateurism - might be nigh after the espousal of professionalism by the New Zealanders when Eddie Tonks, the chairman of the New Zealand Rugby Union, told us that after all it was "non-amateurism" he was after. Is there a difference?

So the debate, less than two months before the International Board's annual meeting is due to make profound decisions on this subject, appears to have come down to semantics. Vernon Pugh, the IB chairman, will be interested to hear that Tonks believes heis merely following the chairman's own agenda.

Yesterday Tonks was backtracking faster than Exeter will probably have to against Wasps in the Pilkington Cup next month. His stomach had turned over when he had first seen his remarks in print in Wellington, and he had - of course - been both misquoted and taken out of context.

So on Sunday Tim Gresson, the NZRU's amateurism committee chairman, was saying, ostensibly with Tonks's endorsement: "Whatever people may feel about rugby going professional, we are already so far down the road that we have no choice but to advocate repealing the amateur regulations."

But on Monday Tonks was saying: "We are not talking about the game going professional. What we believe is feasible is the establishment of a `non-amateur' elite group of players who will be treated as such on a temporary basis. We need to get rid of shamateurism but we are not advocating the abolition of amateurism."

Tonks may not wish to call it by its proper name but this sounds precisely like professionalism as practised in other sports where - just as he is proposing for rugby union - it is only a minuscule proportion of players who are worth remunerating.

"There is going to be no quick decision, merely a continuation of discussions when the IB meets in March," Tonks, Pugh's predecessor as chairman of the board, said. "What we envisage is that a top player will be under some sort of link with his union while he is at the top. But if he earned money from the game there would be no penalties, and he would be able to play a major part in rugby straight away.

"That means that an elite player could turn immediately to coaching or selection. We need control because there are so many outside elements starting to influence the game. Vernon Pugh sees the writing on the wall. He does not necessarily like what he reads but acknowledges what goes on now and is advocating that we remain in control of the future of the game."

In fact Pugh privately fears that at the end of his progressive and visionary 12 months in the chair, and despite the world-wide debate he has instigated, the game's amateur regulations will be left in as much of a mess - and therefore as easy to flout -as they were before.

More mundanely, yesterday's Pilkington Cup quarter-final draw at Twickenham kept apart the big four who remain. Exeter of the Third Division received the home tie they deserved, against Wasps, with the holders, Bath, at home to Northampton, the Second Division's survivors Wakefield unlucky to be drawn at Harlequins, and Leicester travelling to Sale.

PILKINGTON CUP Quarter-finals: Sale v Leicester; Harlequins v Wakefield; Bath v Northampton; Exeter v Wasps. Pilkington Shield quarter-finals: Rushden and Higham v Wallasey or Bedford Q; Wibsey or Huddersfield YMCA v North Shields; Tredworth v Kingsbridge; Ilford Wanderers v St Albans. (Ties to be played 25 February).