Paris (AFP)
The Australian Rugby Federation, the Rugby Union Players Association and the four Australian Super Rugby franchises announced on Monday that they had reached an agreement on salary cuts due to the cessation of competitions caused by the coronavirus pandemic .
"This agreement will see 192 Australian professional players cut their wages by 60% on average until September 30," said the statement from Rugby Australia.
On March 31, the federation, fearing huge financial losses, had put three-quarters of its staff on partial unemployment until July 1.
Its general manager Raelene Castle had her annual salary of more than 450,000 euros halved.
"These financial measures have been guaranteed for the next six months, or until competitions resume," the statement added.
Super Rugby, the southern hemisphere championship, which brings together teams from Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Japan and South Africa, has been suspended since March 14.
Already in financial difficulty before the pandemic, Rugby Australia recorded a deficit of nearly 10 million Australian dollars (5.5 million euros) on Monday, mainly because of the dispute with the former Wallaby Israel Folau, dismissed in May 2019 for holding homophobic messages.
A few days earlier, the All Blacks had accepted a freeze of 50% of their income, or 25 million New Zealand dollars (about 14 million euros), corresponding to half of the income (basic salaries, bonuses, profit-sharing ...) remaining to be collected by the players until the end of the year.
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