Note: This article is from the Guardian.
Mike Tindall’s seven-season stay at Gloucester – and possibly his career as well – is likely to come to an end this summer after the 33-year-old declined a one-year contract that would also have meant a pay cut. He wanted two years and is believed to be discussing a move, possibly to Stade Français.
Tindall’s time at Kingsholm appeared under threat when he returned from the World Cup and the shenanigans in a South Island bar to be warned by Bryan Redpath, Gloucester’s head coach, that he was playing for his contract. Redpath said then: “If Mike plays well there is no reason not to keep him on for another year, but if he doesn’t, then we sit down and have a discussion and I say: ‘Mate it’s not right for Gloucester rugby.’” That time appears to have passed.
Tindall lost his place in the England elite squad after the World Cup troubles and without that money next season he was looking at a pay cut Gloucester were reluctant to make up. Redpath has a history of refusing to meet the demands of senior players and, even though Gloucester were in the black last year, he now has younger players, with England potential rather than an England past, on which to spend his money.
The Samoan centre Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu is also understood to be leaving the club, but Redpath has plenty of centre options: Billy Twelvetrees is moving from Leicester to the join the England Saxons Henry Trinder and Jonny May, plus Tim Molenaar and Ryan Mills.
Tindall was asked last Sunday, after the defeat at Leicester, about a potential move to Paris and replied with a smile on his face: “I’m still a Gloucester player.” If Gloucester fail to make the play-offs – they are currently six points adrift of fourth-placed Northampton – that is likely to be the case for only five more games. He and his wife, Zara, the Queen’s granddaughter, are believed to have invested in an equine centre in Spain.
Tindall’s current contract was only for one year, but he agreed that on the grounds that he would be of limited use to Gloucester in a World Cup year. However, since returning, after the last of his 75 caps, he has put in some solid performances notably in Toulouse in the Heineken Cup and more recently at his former club Bath.
It is performances such as those that convinced Tindall he was worth another two years. Negotiations are understood to have been protracted, but in the end Redpath stood firm and Tindall last weekend conceded: “I would like to stay at Gloucester but it’s difficult, it’s down to the club.”
In the past two weeks Gloucester have lost the internationals Luke Narraway and Alasdair Strokosch to Perpignan while England’s new No8, Ben Morgan, has been signed from the Scarlets.
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Note: This article is from the Guardian. Rugby player Mike Tindall is the husband of Queen Elizabeth’s granddaughter Zara Phillips.
The judgment of senior Twickenham officials is under fresh scrutiny after Mike Tindall had his ejection from England’s elite squad dismissed on appeal. Tindall had his fine for his behaviour in Queenstown during the World Cup reduced from £25,000 to £15,000. The decision further erodes Rob Andrew’s position as the Rugby Football Union’s elite rugby director.
Tindall’s contract is due to finish at the end of next month and he is unlikely to be included in the Six Nations squad but this verdict is considerably less draconian than the original. The Rugby Players Association, which supported Tindall’s appeal, described the original sanction as “extraordinary” and “unprecedented”.
The decision handed down by Martyn Thomas, the acting RFU chief executive, did not exonerate the Gloucester centre but indicated that the punishment delivered by Andrew, following an investigation by Karena Vleck, the union’s legal and governance director, had been flawed.
“We accept there were mitigating factors which do not appear to have been taken into account to the extent that they might otherwise have been,” said Thomas. “Mike did not intentionally mislead the RFU team management when he stated he could not remember where he was on the night of 11 September and that he was relying on other people’s versions of events which were relayed to him.”
Thomas also said Tindall had been reprimanded for excessive drinking. He said: “There was no evidence of any suggestion of sexual impropriety of any nature with the woman in question and we accept the fact she is a family friend whom he has known for a long time.”
Thomas also took into account Tindall’s expression of “deep regret” during the appeal, as well as the apology he issued to Martin Johnson and the team “for the events which unfolded as a consequence”. His good off-field record during his Test career also counted in his favour, although the 33-year-old was not spared from criticism. “It is important to stress that we believe Mike’s behaviour fell way below that to be expected of somebody of his calibre and experience,” said Thomas. “He exposed himself to a very compromising position and exposed the rest of the team to damaging publicity.”
Tindall’s conduct may yet be taken into account when it comes to selection for the Six Nations squad. “We wish to make it clear that this decision does not prevent those deciding the composition of the EPS squad from taking into account this incident when making that decision,” said Thomas, who spent the weekend considering his verdict.
Andrew said Tindall’s conduct deserved serious censure and described his behaviour as “unacceptable” in his original statement. “We have considered all the evidence carefully and interviewed the players at length. These actions have not been taken lightly but we believe that in all these cases the sanctions are commensurate with the level of seriousness of what occurred,” he said this month. Others argued that Tindall was a scapegoat.
Whether or not the player extends his 75-cap career, during which he has scored 14 tries and earned an MBE for the 2003 World Cup triumph, the reduced sanction looks certain to heap further pressure on Andrew. The RFU management board meets on Tuesday to discuss leaks from the three reviews conducted into England’s World Cup failure. Andrew has made clear he does not consider himself entirely responsible for on-field problems but the management’s failure to deal adequately with the Queenstown fall-out and an incident involving a hotel chambermaid in Dunedin had significant effects.
With Johnson and the backs coach, Brian Smith, having resigned and Thomas set to leave the union next month, Andrew’s supporters argue that someone needs to stay to put in place short-term plans for the Six Nations. There is no question, however, that Tindall’s reinstatement further undermines the RFU’s battered credibility.
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This article titled “Mike Tindall set to leave Gloucester after ‘rejecting new contract’” was written by Mike Averis, for guardian.co.uk on Thursday 8th March 2012 13.57 UTC