Dark clouds hover over Irish rugby as long as dispute lingers
IF THE return of glistening blue skies represents the more optimistic mood around the country’s easing of lockdown restrictions, then the promise of thunderstorms to soon follow is a warning that we are not out of the woods just yet. The same school of thought applies to the current rugby landscape as the feel-good vibes of seeing players return to training earlier this week have been dampened by the reminder that the simmering pay cut dispute between the IRFU and Rugby Players Ireland (RPI) is hovering like a dark rain cloud.
This should have been a week when Irish rugby focuses on the positives of taking the first small steps along to way to a resumption of some sort of normality.
Instead, the major talking point is that negotiations between the union and the players’ body must enter a third week following the failure to reach a compromise at another tense meeting yesterday.
Leinster and Munster are already midway through their first week back in their respective high performance centres, while Connacht and Ulster are due to follow them on Monday, having undergone their Covid-19 tests this week.
By all accounts, there has been a real buzz amongst the players in Dublin and Limerick upon seeing each other for the first time in months, but privately at least, no one could blame them if they had serious concerns about the uncertainty surrounding their wages.
Across the pond, England’s club players have already threatened to strike over proposed pay cuts. While such drastic action has not yet been mentioned here, it is the last thing anyone wants.
Rugby players are not immune to the disastrous consequences of the current pandemic, and while sympathy may be in short supply, it’s worth remembering that they haven’t exactly railed against the idea of taking a financial hit.
The players have largely been hidden from view over the last few months, but of the few who have spoken publicly, Jacob Stockdale, to his credit, led by example when he recently said that he would rather take a pay cut than see others left without contracts. Admittedly, this may be easier for a man who, just before Covid-19 struck, signed his first central IRFU contract, which meant a significant bump in his salary, yet we are still talking about a 24-year-old leading from the front.
It would be interesting to gauge the mood amongst Stockdale’s fellow international teammates because some of them, particularly those who are in the latter stage of their careers, may be slower to accept such a significant blow to their bank balance.
After all, the lifespan of a top-level professional rugby player is not that long, which is why the situation between the IRFU and RPI is quite messy.
The two bodies have met three times now without reaching any sort of compromise. You don’t need
to be a fly on the wall to realise that tensions are mounting.
It is understood that the union plan to impose 20 per cent pay cuts in a desperate attempt to stem the flow of revenue haemorrhaging from the IRFU’s coffers on a daily basis.
However, RPI don’t just represent the Jacob Stockdales and Johnny Sextons of this world, who command the golden ticket via their central contracts.
They stand for every professional player in Ireland, which means they must do what’s best for those for whom a 20 per cent pay cut would decimate their wage.
One imagines that a sliding scale may have to be introduced to protect those whose salaries are not as rich as many people would have you believe.
A lot will depend on what RPI’s accountant finds when he looks into IRFU finances
A similar ploy was used in March when the IRFU agreed a wage deferral scheme, but there is a big difference between a pay deferral and a pay cut.
A lot will depend on what the RPI’s forensic accountant finds when he looks into the IRFU’s finances, especially in light of last week’s Government announcement that the union are in line to receive a share (believed to be a third) of a €40m support fund.
Come Monday morning, Irish rugby is facing the very welcome prospect of having all four provinces back in some form of training.
The sun may shine then once again, but before an agreement is eventually reached between the IRFU and RPI, further dark clouds appear inevitable.