Salary cap ‘killing the reputation of the Premiership’, warns Bristol’s Pat Lam

Bristol’s director of rugby, Pat Lam, says the Premiership’s status as a globally-attractive league is under threat if ambitious clubs continue to lose their biggest names and action is not taken to eradicate the geographical inequalities hindering the development of young English players.

Lam, whose Bears side face a must-win game at home to Sale Sharks on Friday if they are to stay in a congested playoff race, believes the reduced Premiership salary cap of £5m risks undermining the league’s long-term appeal and is also calling for a nationwide draft system to be introduced to improve the talent available to the English national team.

The Bears will shortly bid farewell to their star backs Semi Radradra and Charles Piutau and Lam insists the salary cap needs to rise to bolster the standard of the league, despite the fragile financial state of many clubs. “You’re killing the reputation of the Premiership,” said Lam. “I know people say it’s not fair [for some clubs] but we’re keeping everything down at the expense of the quality of the competition. I believe English players shouldn’t be selected from overseas but if the salary cap is £5m then players will leave. You can’t have it both ways.

“For English rugby to be sustainable and marketable you can’t be seen as the fourth best competition. You aim to be the first. I believe the Premiership had that at one stage. But if the England team is not winning and English clubs aren’t at the forefront of European competition it’s very difficult to say your competition is one of the best.

The back-rower Bryonie King is set to make her Wales debut from the bench against England in the Women's Six Nations on Saturday. 

The 19-year-old Bristol forward joins a Wales side who have