Saracens judgment is a spectacle of a sport robustly applying its rules | David Conn

Clever ways of paying players very often turn out to be not as well-advised as they must seem when they are conceivedTwo main thoughts were prompted by the thunderous 35-point penalty, and £5.36m fine, imposed on Premiership rugby champions Saracens for spectacular breaches and overpayments of the sport’s agreed salary cap. Related: Saracens docked 35 points and fined £5m for salary cap breach What is the salary cap? Premiership Rugby introduced the salary cap in 1999 with the aims of ensuring a level playing field and maintaining a competitive, growing and financially sustainable league,…