If clubs have enough money lying around to pay players... that's their decision.
If they have enough quality contacts to provide work, accommodation, cars or even, dare I say it, scholarships, even better. They are providing young men (and possibly women, not too sure about that though) the opportunity to pursue their rugby in the equivalent of a semi-professional environment. An environment that is hard to come by in Australia (ask the boys in the Reds WTS about how much they are compensated for the time they have to take off work to train at Ballymore) and one that can be easily found as low as 5th division rugby in Europe.
Having paid to play rugby for the last 10 years, I can guarantee that the most satisfying victories are those against teams that are either full of contracted players (doesn't happen too often) or those that have rumours of player payments circling around Brisbane.