This is a line-in-the-sand moment for the Premiership clubs. Either they agree to endorse every single one of Lord Myners 52 recommendations or their gentlemans club reverts to being an incestuous, back-biting and back-stabbing little gathering with zero credibility.

The choice is that stark, the challenge laid down to owners and stakeholders that all-consuming, for as Myners states this is not a menu (of recommendations) to pick certain morsels that please the appetite and ignore others.

It is all or nothing. The former government minister was hired to produce a comprehensive review of salary-cap regulations. He has done just that. No white-washing, no shilly-shallying, no attempt to pull the rug from beneath due process, as happened in 2015 when Saracens were allowed to reach private settlement with the other clubs after previous transgressions were uncovered.

Transparency should be a key principle going forward with any breaches made public. Secretive masonic ways should be a thing of the past.

Myners, who admits to a great love for the sport and wishes to see it expand its horizons, has been fair-minded in outlook, comprehensive in appraisal and as brutal and unforgiving in his judgement as if he were an old-school French forward looking to inflict a spot of well-merited retribution on an uppity opponent.

No-one is spared not the clubs, not players or directors of rugby who should be more accountable themselves and not look to plead the Fifth Amendment every time an eyebrow is raised about their possible remuneration, not the agents, either, who were not among the 450 people who took part in a consultation survey.

Club officials are within the orbit of possible future sanction, while Myners also suggests that players tax returns, should be available on a random basis.

The intent is clear to clean up Premier Rugbys act with regard to salary-cap dealings. If the clubs do as they should do and back Myners impressive body of work then there will never again be a Saracens-type scandal. This report is exhaustive, forensic and laced with common sense.

As with all good codes of behaviour, it is part stick, part carrot in tone. In future, miscreants could be stripped of titles (as did not happen to Saracens, who retained their two Premiership crowns albeit they were fined 5.4million, docked 105 points and relegated) and even face a lifetime ban from the competition if therewere to be repeated breaches or acts of non-compliance.

Originally posted here:

Premiership clubs have a simple choice: end their secretive masonic ways or lose all credibility - Telegraph.co.uk