New £100k-per-year offer could avert player strike

NEWS UPDATE: The Welsh Rugby Union and the country’s professional players on Wednesday moved closer to a deal that could avert a threatening player strike.

Support appeared to be growing Wednesday for a possible strike by Welsh players, which could threaten next week’s Six Nations clash against England in Cardiff.

However, a Wales statement said a new ‘six-year deal is on the table’.

The Professional Rugby Board members, the Welsh Rugby Players Association and Wales’ players are engaged in “ongoing” contract negotiations since January.

The PRB also gave the commitment to honour all existing contracts.

The statement said Welsh Rugby Union interim CEO Nigel Walker met with senior members of the Wales squad on Wednesday, to further “clarify the current position”, following verbal agreement of a new six-year deal for the professional game in Wales and the signing of a ‘heads-of-terms’ document.

They also committed to maintaining open dialogue to resolve individual concerns.

According to the statement, the PRB accepts that current discussions are complex and nuanced and that the terms offered may not meet the immediate expectations of all individuals involved.

The WRU statement also said – as has been evidenced in other countries – finances in the game are stretched and the professional game in Wales is determined to “live within its means”.

The PRB’s stated collective aim is to achieve sustainable success for the four professional club sides in Wales.

Under the current agreement reached this will mean a salary cap for the 2024/25 season which is in line with most competitors (the cap for season 23/24 will be higher because existing contracts will be honoured).

“The new agreement offers a complete funding package to the professional game in Wales, but it does come with financial limitations which will directly affect salary negotiations,” PRB Chairman Malcolm Wall said

“The cold facts are that the Wales and clubs have been paying salaries that their businesses cannot afford, so the new agreement establishes a new framework for contract negotiations.

“There is a stipulation that all current contracts will be honoured, but these businesses must return to a sustainable footing in order for the success we all crave to follow.

“The average salary of a Welsh professional rugby player under the new framework will be around £100,000 per year.

“We are confident that our salary packages are in line with the UK market.

“The PRB accepts that some better-funded English and French clubs are paying more, but this is where we must set the mark of sustainability in Wales.”

The new six-year agreement reached includes provision for a new approach to international player release, a salary cap and a formal framework for contract negotiations across all four professional sides and the national squad.

There is no room for manoeuvre when it comes to the overall budget available for player contracts.

“We have absolute empathy with the professional players in Wales and are hugely grateful for all that they do for our national game, just as our regional sides are for the commitment of their players” added interim Wales CEO Nigel Walker.

“We know we are not in an ideal situation, but it is incredibly important for the whole game in Wales for us to get this next step right.

“We must get this right and if that means taking time to do so then that is the way it must be.

“Throughout all our negotiations our duty of care to our players in Wales has always been of paramount importance and that is why we have developed a solution around current contracts, which has been in place since the New Year.

“The next step is to confirm the deal and confirm these contracts and we will be moving as swiftly as we possibly can to that point.”

The initial reports of industrial action by the players were contained in a Daily Mail report.

The “60-cap rule”, established in 2017, means players who are based with clubs outside of Wales are deemed ineligible for selection unless they have won 60 or more caps.

Wales coach Warren Gatland, returning for his second spell in charge, has questioned the worth of the rule.

It would deprive Wales of lock Will Rowlands – who is set to join Paris side Racing 92 – at this year’s World Cup in France unless the second row receives special dispensation from the Welsh game’s professional board.

Ospreys lock Bradley Davies, who won the last of his 66 caps in 2019 and was part of three World Cup campaigns, said: “Boys playing international and regional rugby don’t know if they’ve got a job in four months, it is always going to be difficult.”

Asked if he would go on strike, Davies added: “If we had to strike and that was the decision everyone made, then fair enough. But it is the last, last option.

“It is easy for someone to say, ‘don’t worry about it’, but you do worry about it. It’s your job. You have families, mortgages, the cost of living.

“People are earning big money in rugby, of course they are, the same in any sport. But the average wage in rugby, especially Welsh rugby, is nowhere near the other teams.”

One Wales player, described as a Six Nations squad member, told the Daily Mail: “I can’t believe I’m five months away from the end of my contract and eight months away from the World Cup and my future isn’t certain yet.

“I can’t apply for a mortgage and I’m on antidepressants… I’m starting for Wales every week and the Wales is making tens of millions from international matches.”

Reports of a strike threat come at a time of turmoil for Welsh rugby both on and off the field.

Last month, then-Wales chief executive Steve Phillips resigned after a BBC documentary made allegations of sexism at the governing body.

Wales – who will face England a week on Saturday in Cardiff – are currently bottom of the Six Nations table after the first two games saw the team overwhelmed 34-10 by Ireland in Cardiff, before suffering a record 35-7 defeat by Scotland in Edinburgh last weekend.