Unpaid, a poor RU team (7)
I believe the answer is:
amateur
'unpaid' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'a poor ru team' is the wordplay.
'poor' indicates an anagram.
'ru'+'team'='ruteam'
'ruteam' is an anagram of 'mateur'.
'a'+'mateur'='AMATEUR'
(Other definitions for amateur that I've seen before include "He's not professional" , "Lover" , "One who pursues an activity as a pastime only" , "Dilettante: buff" , "Unpaid performer" .)