Biz Watch

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VICTORY BONUS: England captain Martin Johnson holds the William Webb Ellis trophy aloft.

Converting the Cup Into Cash
It took some last-gasp heroics for England to topple Australia in Saturday's Rugby World Cup final in Sydney; commercial success should now come a little easier. While the players — proud amateurs until the game went professional in 1995 — carve up a €1.9 million bonus, the English game's governing body, the Rugby Football Union, will expect a scrum of sponsors to hail the new champs by loosening their purse strings. The RFU squeezed €15 million out of sponsors this year, topping the €12.9 million it attracted in...

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