1O YEARS OF PROFESSIONALISM HONOURED
A plaque was unveiled by Union chief executive David Moffett at Mr Pugh’s former club, Cardiff High School Old Boys, on Friday. It marks a decade since Mr Pugh – who died in 2003 – announced in Paris that rugby union would no longer ban payments to players.
Mr Pugh was chairman of the International Rugby Board’s amateurism committee, and the plaque features his words which spelled the demise of the amateur game: “Subsequent to the repeal of the amateur regulations, rugby will become an open game.
“There will be no prohibition on payment or the provision of any other material benefit to any person involved in the game.”
Mr Moffett commented: “Rugby was on a knife-edge 10 years ago, and it needed people like Vernon Pugh to change the regulations and take the game forward.”
