Glen Ella to pick new Sevens team after ambit claim from RUPA
There are always two sides to a story however, on the surface, it sounds like the Sevens Players may be getting a bit big for their britches!
Personally I think that the Sevens programme should be elivated to between Australia A and Super14 status as a vital development tool for backs and loose forwards rather than being a semi-pro (sporting) political nightmare.
Hopefully we can sort it out so the current crop who played at Melbourne Com Games etc can continue their develoment towards a Pro Contract.
Glen Ella to pick new Sevens team after ambit claim from RUPA
November 22, 2006 - 6:27pm
Story by: ARU
Nineteen players from the Australian Sevens training squad have knocked back the opportunity to play for Australia at the upcoming Dubai Sevens (1-2 December) unless the ARU agrees to their last-minute demands for a 133% increase in match payments.
A 22-man squad has been preparing for the 2006-07 IRB World Sevens Series under Coach Glen Ella for the past two months.
However, less than a week before flying out to the first tournament, the ARU has received an ultimatum from the Rugby Union Players Association (RUPA) demanding an increase in player payments from $1,500 to $3,500 per tournament.
The ARU has rejected the ambit claim, and told RUPA and the players that if they are not willing to represent Australia on the international stage, it will select players who are.
ARU CEO and Managing Director Gary Flowers said RUPA's demands had cost the young players the chance to wear the gold jersey and push their claims for a Super 14 contract in the future.
"These players have been training with Glen Ella for two months and have been fully aware of the fact that they will each get paid $3,000 to play in Dubai and George over two weekends.
"Now, less than a week before they are due to fly, we get this ambit claim from RUPA. It is disappointing that RUPA is putting such pressure on these young players.
"The ARU's annual budget for the entire Australian Sevens program is around $550,000 which includes player payments, travel, accommodation, coaching staff, playing kit and insurance. Of this $144,000 is allocated for player payments.
"Agreeing to their demands would decimate the budget, and would simply mean we would have to strip the money out of another development program like the Australian Under 19s or Under 21s. We are simply not prepared to do that.
"The Sevens program is a stepping stone for these players, not a full-time job. It is just disappointing that RUPA has convinced them to put dollars before representative honours and the chance to earn a potentially lucrative professional contract.
"We have always sought to negotiate fairly and openly with RUPA. We have always operated in good faith and we have always negotiated mutually acceptable outcomes with them.
"Unfortunately they have responded with aggressive and unreasonable tactics which may have cost these young men a chance to represent Australia and travel the world."
Australian coach Glen Ella is currently selecting a new Australian team to ensure Australia is represented at the opening tournament in Dubai.
"Players such as Matt Giteau, Drew Mitchell, Peter Hynes and Stephen Hoiles have all used Sevens to further their career," Ella said.
"It is a sad day for the guys left behind. They have really blown a chance to take the next step up.
"I have played and coached plenty of tournaments around the world and have seen a lot of players use Sevens as a stepping-stone to a full-time contract in a Super 14 team.
"While contracted players haven't been regularly available for Sevens for several years, it has given young and upcoming players the chance to expose their skills to Super 14 coaches and in some cases pick up a Super 14 contract.
"These guys get to travel the world, experience the camaraderie at a great international event, and wear the gold Australian jersey.
"There are plenty of guys who would give their left arm to get paid to travel around the world to play Sevens Rugby for Australia."
ARU to select new Australian Sevens team
ARU to select new Australian Sevens team
November 23, 2006 - 4:45pm
Story by: ARU
The Australian Rugby Union will announce a new Australian Sevens team tomorrow.
The team is due to fly out for the Dubai Sevens on Monday, and given that the majority of regular players had made themselves unavailable this week, the ARU has been forced to move ahead over the last 48 hours with selecting a new team.
The original 22-man Australian Sevens squad has been training under coach Glen Ella for the past two months, fully aware of the conditions and benefits of representing Australia on the world stage.
However this week the majority of the squad suddenly lodged unreasonable pay demands on the ARU. These demands are unacceptable and have not been agreed to by the ARU.
As a result of these players making themselves unavailable, they have not been selected for the Dubai and George Sevens. The ARU has moved ahead to select players who are willing to don the gold jersey and represent Australia.
The new team will be announced tomorrow (Friday).
Players reach ARU compromise
The ironic thing to me is, if they lift the player payments then more players will make themselves available and therefore the very players who went on strike may find themselves pushed aside by better players who can now "afford" to play!
Players reach ARU compromise
November 23, 2006
AUSTRALIA'S rugby sevens players say they won't go on strike during next month's tournament in Dubai after a compromise was reached in a pay dispute.
The Rugby Union Players Association said an agreement had been reached with the Australian Rugby Union to review its sevens program.
"Following a number of tense discussions in the past 24 hours . . . the ARU has agreed to sit down and have a full review of the sevens program shortly to discuss the issues and how to progress for 2007," a RUPA statement read.
"All sevens players have subsequently made themselves available for selection and look forward to competing for Australia at the IRB tournaments."
RUPA revealed it had been in discussion with the ARU for two months on the matter of player payments, which it said lagged behind other international teams' remuneration.
"Currently the Australian sevens players receive $1500 gross per tournament . . . making it impossible to compete on an even playing field with their rivals including New Zealand, South Africa and England who receive annual contract payments of up to $50,000.
"Some players have lost either their regular employment or income and business opportunities as a result of the time commitments, yet without adequate financial compensation."
Today's breakthroough came after the ARU last night said it had knocked back an "ultimatum" from RUPA to increase the players' tournament payments to $3500 of have them pull out of the Dubai event.
The ARU said then that coach Glen Ella had been selecting a new team to play in Dubai from December 1 to 2.
RUPA had accused the ARU of sticking its "head in the sand" on the issue.
"The Australian rugby sevens players are the poor cousins of sevens rugby," RUPA boss Tony Dempsey said last night.
"We've been having meetings and correspondence with the ARU, but all they have done is stick their head in the sand."
ARU chief executive Gary Flowers warned that RUPA's demands had threatened to cost the young players a chance to represent Australia and push for a Super 14 contract.
"The Sevens program is a stepping stone for these players, not a fulltime job," Flowers said.
"It is just disappointing that RUPA has convinced them to put dollars before representative honours and the chance to earn a potentially lucrative professional contract."
AAP
