Wallabies to be paid more for wins than losses, but players say deal a 'one-off'

Iain Payten
07:51, Feb 15 2022


Michael Hooper and the Wallabies have agreed on a one-off pay deal for the 2022 season.

Wallabies players view a new deal where they get paid more for a test victory as a “one-off” during the Covid-19 pandemic and is not a move towards win-only match fees, according to players’ union boss Justin Harrison.

Rugby Australia and the Rugby Union Players’ Association announced last week they’d agreed to terms for a further one-year extension of an amended Collective Bargaining Agreement, which was first forged in 2020 due to the drastic financial impacts of Covid-19.

The agreement contains several alterations, notably Wallaroos players were in line to pocket up to $30,000 for a lengthy test campaign in 2022 that includes the World Cup in October, and an increased minimum wage in Super Rugby.

But one of the most interesting changes was a re-jigged match payment structure for the Wallabies, which will result in increased test fees for wins - but not losses - and trophy-winning bonuses RA labelled “recognition of performance payment”.

Until 2021, Wallabies with topped-up contracts earned $10,000 per test - and players without top-ups received $12,000 - but players accepted a 50 per cent cut to match fees in 2021 due to the impact of Covid-19 on Rugby Australia’s bottom line. It yielded $2.5m in savings, which was used to help fund other programs, including the Wallaroos.

The plan was to restore the test fees to full amounts in 2022 but with RA still impacted heavily by Covid-19, players agreed to continue reduced rates this year but with a difference - Wallabies representatives will earn around $7500 per win and around $5000 per loss.

It is the first time Wallabies players will get paid a different amount according to the result, and is a fraction closer to meeting the hoary calls from disgruntled fans that players should only be paid if they win, to motivate them.

Harrison, the RUPA chief executive, wholly rejects the argument that players are driven by money and would put in more effort in a test just to secure a bigger pay cheque.

“The problem for me is when people start to try and confuse that a win bonus will try and provoke a better performance, that’s counter-productive to the argument that people try and present that they only play for money. And they don’t,” Harrison said.

“There are too many variables in the decision points of the game that are out of their control to have a win bonus rest on that.

“Team selection, injury, weather, circumstance, refereeing, all sorts of variables that present as a challenge in the game for the players to influence the result of the game, other than their performance alone, dictates that there needs to be a meaningful and regular payment for selection in the 23.

“And then you start to think about bonuses for winning tournaments, winning Bledisloes, winning Tri-Nations, winning World Cups, because that is an over-and-above achievement. It is not over and above expectation, but the result itself is.

“For this moment in time, for this short extension, we have been able to recognise that the business itself needs more time to work through an unstable period.

“The feedback from the RUPA board and membership is that this is a one-off circumstance, because we are solving for a one-off problem in time, in terms of Covid-related impact on the business and instability of the business model.”

Wallabies squad members are also now eligible for a bonus of around $12,000 per player if they win the Bledisloe Cup, and $12,000 if they win the Rugby Championship. Previously, bonus payments for silverware were earned only at World Cups.

In reality, the arrangements for 2022 are more carrot than stick - trying to acknowledge the financial sacrifices made by players during Covid-19 and to create windows to return to pre-pandemic levels of earning.

Attaching bigger payments to victory is tied to the fact RA can budget on making more money when the Wallabies are winning, and can therefore afford to distribute more to players, or as was stated in the CBA media statement last week “to reflect the commercial upside of a winning Wallabies team”.

The introduction of a “meaningful” pay agreement for Wallaroos squad members was welcomed by captain Grace Hamilton. Players will get around $200 a day, or $1400 a week, while in camp. And with the Wallaroos playing up to six tests before their World Cup campaign in New Zealand in October, the squad could be in camp for almost three months.

“It is definitely a step forward. We used to do match payments but if you don’t play, you are not getting paid and you’re missing out,” Hamilton said.

“So it is really important for us to have a squad thing, rather than just the playing 23.

“That was a really good step for us, and obviously just getting anything is great, but especially this year.

“There are about 82 work days you have to take off if you are in the national program, so it is about nullifying that loss of income or if girls have to leave jobs because of that, or that they won’t be out of pocket.”

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/...-deal-a-oneoff