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Greg Growden Chief Rugby Correspondent | April 21, 2009
THE Australian Rugby Union, upset that Wallabies prop Al Baxter has gone public in stating that his contract negotiations have broken down, insisted yesterday "the ball is in his court".
The ARU also stressed that if Test back-rower Rocky Elsom wanted to return to play for the Wallabies this season, he had to be contracted to an Australian province, not Leinster in Ireland.
Chief executive John O'Neill said the ARU was "very disappointed" Baxter "had decided to negotiate through the media".
"It was not necessary for Al to do that, because he is a valued player," O'Neill said yesterday.
Baxter told the Herald last week that as talks with the ARU had collapsed, and he had told the national and NSW rugby unions he would pursue negotiations with clubs in Europe.
Baxter, Australia's most-capped prop, said he hoped the ARU would reconsider its stance over a two-year deal, which would take him through to the 2011 World Cup, and was disappointed with how long it had taken to start negotiations.
"Unfortunately, it was pretty slow with the ARU - not getting back to me and [my] having to do a fair bit of chasing up with them to try and get offers from them," Baxter said.
While disputing that the ARU was "slow" in negotiations, O'Neill said there was a misconception that the Wallabies forwards, in particular front-rowers, were underpaid.
"If you take the top 20 highest-paid players in Australia in 2008, 13 were forwards, and six of them were front-rowers," O'Neill said. "And Al is amongst that group. He is actually amongst the top 10 highest-paid players in Australia in 2008. And that's been the case for some time. But our earnest desire is for negotiations to take place at the negotiating table, and not in the media."
The ARU's contract negotiator, Peter Friend, denied Baxter had struggled to get a response from the ARU.
"It is fair to say, though, that sometimes the negotiations of the two sides go at different paces," Friend said. "We're negotiating with a whole range of players at the current time. Sometimes a player can expect that they'll hear things quicker than what necessarily takes place."
Asked if the ARU hoped to retain Baxter, Friend replied: "The ball is in his court."
Elsom, who headed to Ireland after last year's Tri Nations series, meanwhile has given a strong indication he wants to return to the Wallabies ranks. The ARU gave him an early release on "compassionate grounds" to join Leinster.
In an interview with Inside Rugby magazine, to be published tomorrow, Elsom said after appearing for the Barbarians against the Wallabies in Sydney in June he wanted to be part of Robbie Deans's Test squad.
Asked what his plans were following the Heineken Cup, Elsom said: "The Australian international season starts in June, and I'd like to be part of that. I just really want to get into the Tests. When you're over here watching everyone compete in the Six Nations, you want your piece of the action. So that's all I've been thinking of is getting back so I can play in those Tests …
"You've got to play well, [the selectors] are not going to pick you if you're not playing well. It also depends on how everyone else is playing, and there's a bit of Super rugby to come."
While there were suggestions Elsom was about to re-sign with Leinster, the ARU yesterday stressed he could return to the Wallabies ranks only if he were contracted to an Australian province. "We are still confident that Rocky will be contracted to the ARU through to the next World Cup," O'Neill said.
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