‘PETRIFIED’ STARS SEEK PSYCHOLOGICAL HELP OVER CONTRACT CRISIS:
SOME Welsh rugby players are seeking psychological help and looking for jobs outside the sport amid the crippling uncertainty over contracts this side of the Severn Bridge.
And a number are said to be “petrified” of picking up injuries during the remaining weeks of their deals, for fear that they will either be cast aside or unwanted by other clubs if they fail to secure new arrangements with their current teams.
Those are the claims of two players who say they have been forced to speak out because of the worry they and team-mates are enduring.
Delays in implementing a new pay system and contracts have meant the regions have been unable to re-sign those who are heading towards the status of free agents in Wales.
It is believed members of the Wales squad are affected, along with a further swathe of players around the four professional sides.
Pay bands are being brought in under which players are to be placed in different brackets and remunerated accordingly.
Some are becoming increasingly fearful of what the future holds.
“It’s just really scary,” said one player, who declined to be named.
“A number of boys have just four wage packets left before they are out of contract and they have no idea if they are going to be wanted next season or what they will definitively be paid.
“It’s horrendous and heart-breaking. There are people with mortgages to pay and families to look after, but they can’t plan anything or have any kind of peace of mind while this cloud is hanging over them.
“I have heard that a few boys at one region at least have been seeking psychological help to deal with the stress of it all.
“People have been struggling mentally, and while we all know that we shouldn’t worry about things we can’t control, it is easier said than done when you could find yourself on the scrapheap within a few months.
“I don’t want to be overpaid. I just want to be fairly paid and to be allowed to crack on with my job. I know that’s the mindset of a load of the boys I’ve spoken to across the regions.
“In a perfect world, everything would have been signed off months ago and we could have been concentrating on the rugby. But here we are in mid-February and the situation is still up in the air.
“No other group of workers would put up with it. The mood among the boys I’m close to isn’t great. People are demoralised and fed up.
“What do you do if you get seriously injured in the coming weeks? I’m petrified of that happening and others are, too. You could be cut adrift by your region and find it hard to get a new club for next season.
“I am speaking to the press because it’s a way of letting people know about the nightmare situation we are in. The Western Mail did a story on the pay banding a few months ago and that did us a favour because before then all we’d heard were rumours of what was being proposed. Had that story not come out we probably still wouldn’t know the full details.
“I just think we deserve better.” The new pay system and contracts are part of the slew of changes being introduced under so-called Project Reset, the name given to the fresh settlement being set in place for the professional game in Wales.
The idea behind the model is to curb wage inflation in Welsh rugby.
But some are doubtful the situation will work out as the Welsh Rugby Union and the regions want. “You cannot have four professional teams saving money and tightening belts and trying to win things,” another player argued.
The individual, who also wanted to remain anonymous, continued: “I know you can’t spend money you haven’t got, but my answer to that would be that somehow more cash needs to be brought into the game in Wales. Is the structure right? Are we playing in the right competition? Why aren’t sponsors and broadcasters prepared to part with that much money? What can we do about it?
“And the delay over contracts is awful for the players.
“I know some are looking for jobs outside the game, just in case they don’t get fresh deals. A few have even spoken about the idea of going on strike. It probably won’t happen, but that’s how worrying the situation is. You have to be fair to people and what’s happening isn’t fair. It surely isn’t asking too much to let people know where they stand four months before the end of their contracts.”
The Welsh Rugby Union and the Welsh Rugby Players Association have previously declined to comment on issues connected to the proposed new pay structure while negotiations are ongoing.