Pro player shirts1/12/2024 ![]() ![]() ![]() We are confident our salary packages are in line with the UK market. “The average salary of a Welsh professional rugby player under the new framework will be around £100k per year. 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 cold facts are that the WRU and clubs have been paying salaries that their businesses cannot afford, so the new agreement establishes a new framework for contract negotiations. “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,” said PRB chair Malcolm Wall in a statement. It claims this will be in line with most competitors. The PRB’s aim is to achieve sustainable success for the four regions, and under the proposed agreement it will mean a salary cap for the 2024-25 season. Nigel Walker, the interim chief executive at the WRU, met senior members of the Wales squad yesterday to clarify the situation on contracts and negotiations for a new six-year deal with the regions. How would you feel if you weren’t guaranteed a contract? And if you are, it is 100 per cent guaranteed you will be paid less than you were before.” There are boys playing international and regional rugby who don’t know if they’ve got a job in four months’ time, so it’s difficult. “They want this to stop and for us to move forward and compete with other teams. The boys want Welsh rugby to get better again. It’s obviously an option in any job, but none of the boys want that, they don’t want to strike. “I wouldn’t want to strike,” he said, “but if that was the only thing that had to be done, then I guess I would have to. The experienced former Wales and Ospreys second-row Bradley Davies conceded he would strike as a last resort. At some point, the definition of insanity has to surely mean we’ve got to the point where we realise that what’s gone on before hasn’t worked well enough, and it’s time to change,” said Booth.Īs for the players, some of whom are finding difficulty getting mortgages and who are suffering from mental health issues, they simply want a voice at the top table so they can have a say in their destiny. 'We want Welsh rugby to get better again' The deadline for that is Feb 28 and a meeting of the Professional Rugby Board (PRB), which manages the game at the top level, scheduled for yesterday was postponed at short notice. Players have been told their wages will be cut again even if the warring factions come together and finally put pen to paper on a proposed six-year funding deal. Neither he nor the other three regional coaches have been able to put together proper budgets for next season because of an impasse between the Welsh Rugby Union and the regions. Now in his third season in Wales, Booth is caught in the middle of one of the worst crises in the history of the Welsh game. If they feel they have to make a stand, then they’ll make a stand and I understand that completely.” “The players are absolutely my focus in terms of getting a performance and I’ll support them the best I can. “I support, as you can imagine, the position of the Ospreys because I’m in charge,” said Englishman Booth, who previously coached at London Irish, Bath and Harlequins. ![]() The Ospreys have 14 players in the Wales squad and were the leading region last season. The Six Nations showdown between England and Wales on Saturday week is in doubt after it emerged that Welsh players were considering strike action over their stalling contract renewals. Ospreys head coach Toby Booth says he would support his players if they went on strike as Welsh rugby’s civil war continued. The WRU and the four professional sides are yet to rubberstamp a new funding deal that would lift the freeze and ease players' fears Ospreys head coach will support Welsh player strike
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