The Australian Rugby Union is virtually bankrupt because it has tried to retain its best players. The ARU’s Kiwi counterpart has seen its wage bill rocket and there is pressure on World Rugby, the global governing body, to give a larger percentage of funding to these unions, which means less for the rest, especially emerging unions at a time when the game needs to be grown. Add a similar number of rich English owners and a tipping point would not be far off whereby not only clubs but countries could go under.