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THE Waratahs are facing one of the greatest retention battles of any team in world sport because 80 per cent of their frontline roster is off contract at the end of the season.
With most of those players also on ARU top-ups due to their status as Wallabies, coach Michael Cheika has an enormous task to negotiate with the separate parties to keep the bulk of his team together beyond this year.
Just six of the Waratahs' 30-man squad are contracted beyond this year, while the four Extended Playing Squad members, including star Ben Volavola, are also free agents.
Injured hooker Damien Fitzpatrick, ruled out for the year and replaced by lock Mitchell Chapman, is also off contract, bringing the total of off-contract players to 29 of 35.
Not only has Cheika been dealt a nightmare situation by the previous coaching regimes that negotiated the contracts, he is also hamstrung by the dual-contracting process of the ARU, which means he must estimate roughly how much each player will be offered by the national ruling body and table his offers accordingly.
Nevertheless, an upbeat Cheika said: "We've got some good retention stuff happening, a few balls in the air still because we're still waiting for some ARU top-up decisions to be made. But we're on the way.
"I don't know if we'd be announcing stuff too early, we'll just start playing for a while, get some deals done and then announce something when we have a break perhaps.
"Anything we do, we might look to announce during the bye week (April 13). I am attending to every question that's been asked of me about retention or recruitment.
"Most of the guys we're talking about are on ARU top-ups. I want to sort them out quickly too. I don't want to be waiting until the end of the season. I know all the guys I want to sign.
"Just because (agents) want me to sign players - they might want me to pay $500,000 for them. Maybe I don't want to pay $500,000."
Already stars Berrick Barnes and Wycliff Palu have been linked with moves to Japan, while speculation is rife that Kurtley Beale will return to NSW next season.
"I'm about retention first. I can't recruit anyone until I know who I'm keeping," Cheika said.
"Berrick I'm not sure about, Cliff I'm not sure about. In that (five-eighth) position especially, with Berrick, I don't know whether he will get a release, whether he will definitely be going, so until then it's hard to do anything around that position.
"I know there will always be speculation around good players like Beale, but until I know what my retention picture is, it's hard for me to do anything."
ARU chief executive Bill Pulver said recently that players looking to have an overseas sabbatical next year and return to Australia for the 2015 World Cup would be considered as individual cases.
"It's probably premature for me to be too definitive on that issue," Pulver said.
"Clearly that is a major priority for us.
"I place enormous value on the possibility of wearing an Australian jersey, that is right at the top of the tree in my considerations for discussions with players, and frankly they do too.
"We will be looking at every issue on its merits."
THE TA TA TAHS
1 Adam Ashley-Cooper - off contract
2 Ollie Atkins - off contract
3 Berrick Barnes - off contract
4 Peter Betham - off contract
5 Tom Carter - off contract
6 Cam Crawford - contracted
7 Dave Dennis - contracted
8 Kane Douglas - off contract
9 Damien Fitzpatrick - off contract
10 Bernard Foley - off contract
11 Grayson Hart - off contract
12 Michael Hodge - contracted
13 Michael Hooper - contracted
14 Rob Horne - off contract
15 Sekope Kepu - off contract
16 Tom Kingston - off contract
17 Pat McCutcheon - contracted
18 Brendan McKibbin - off contract
19 Drew Mitchell - off contract
20 Wycliff Palu - off contract
21 Greg Peterson - off contract
22 Tatafu Polota-Nau - off contract
23 Benn Robinson - off contract
24 Paddy Ryan - contracted
25 Jeremy Tilse - off contract
26 Lopeti Timani - off contract
27 Sitaleki Timani - off contract
28 Lachie Turner - off contract
29 John Ulugia - off contract
30 Israel Folau - off contract
31 Mitch Chapman (replacement for the injured Fitzpatrick) - off contract
EXTENDED PLAYER SQUAD
Jed Holloway - off contract
Luke Holmes - off contract
Sam Lane - released
Matt Lucas - off contract
Ben Volavola - off contract