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Welsh internationals strike action?

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Richard Lowther View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Richard Lowther Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Feb 2023 at 16:41
Originally posted by WEvans WEvans wrote:

Originally posted by Richard Lowther Richard Lowther wrote:

Originally posted by jimbojetset jimbojetset wrote:

Originally posted by Richard Lowther Richard Lowther wrote:

Originally posted by Steve@Mose Steve@Mose wrote:

Originally posted by Richard Lowther Richard Lowther wrote:

Originally posted by Steve@Mose Steve@Mose wrote:

Match on - agreement reached.

Maybe I am niaive but I never had any doubts it would be. 

It would appear that the players picked the ideal opportunity to take their stand - make a deal with us or lose around ten million quid.



I can understand some of their concerns but it seems a strange argument - we'll go on strike because we haven't enough money/job security - yet that very act would probably destroy the finances of the body that they are asking for money money and job security from. 



Not strange at all. Their employer is expecting them to just carry on as if everything is normal. The only reason their employer has decided to sit down and deal with the problem they’ve created is because their only real asset (the players) have said they weren’t going to play. It was the nuclear option and the fact that the WRU only waited until now to sort it, says more about them than the players.



As I understand it negotations have been progressing for a while and that a deal was close.  This just seems to have speeded up some of the part of that deal but hasn't completed the whole deal. 

The Welsh players have underperformed in recent seasons - both internationally and in Europe and you have to question if they deserve a pay increase, especially in an time when the game as a whole in Wales is struggling. 

It my mind it doesn't address the fundamental point that too much money is going to too few players and the rest of the game is left hunting for scraps.  





I thought many of the players were worried about having a contract at all as opposed to having an increased salary? 

The four regions will still need players and there will be bigger gaps in squads if players go play outside of Wales so it's highly likely they would be offered contracts (no different to the usual end of contract negotiations) so that's a bit of a red herring. They are arguing over the new banding and the 20% bonus payments. 
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WEvans View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote WEvans Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Feb 2023 at 15:13

Really?

‘Welsh Rugby Players Association (WRPA) has criticised Wales rugby bosses, saying its players "feel let down" and "have had enough" amid delays over new contracts.

It added that the delay is having a "profound effect" on players, particularly those out of contract, and is "placing unacceptable strain on mental health and overall wellbeing".

Josh Turnbull, who plays for Cardiff Rugby and has played for the national side, said players are "anxious" and that the dispute is not around how much players earn but "the fact that players don't know if they have a job in four months time"’.

https://news.sky.com/story/wales-rugby-why-are-players-threatening-to-go-on-strike-ahead-of-england-game-12812355#:~:text='Players%20want%20to%20be%20taking%20the%20field'&text=The%20Welsh%20Rugby%20Union%20(WRU,of%20sexism%2C%20homophobia%20and%20racism.


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Mark W-J View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mark W-J Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Mar 2023 at 07:40
There are two problems that were being addressed last week.

The first - and more important - is that the WRU haven't informed the regions of the amount of funding they will have for next season (they're supposedly working on a six-year funding agreement).  This means that the regions have been unable to start contract negotiations with players who are out of contract at the end of the season.  The players are concerned that, if they suffer a serious injury which could keep them out for 8-12 months or more - as has happened to Dmitri Arhip and Jack Dixon in recent weeks - they will be left out of a job, because nobody wants to sign a player who can't play, especially when money is so tight.

The second issue - which was what the strike for the England game was about - was the players looking for resolution on three issues: the removal of the 60-cap rule; the players' union (WRPA) having a seat on the Professional Rugby Board, which is the body responsible for running professional rugby in Wales; and scrapping the proposed new contracts for Wales internationals which are 80% fixed and 20% based on win bonuses.  Now, it's easy to say that Wales have been rubbish and they don't deserve to get paid so much, but if you look at the first test in SA last summer, which we led for 75 minutes before losing to a penalty with the clock in the red - do they players deserve to be paid 20% less for that amount of effort?

And as well as those two problems, you've got the backdrop of the sexism and general behaviour of the dinosaurs at the WRU.  It's not specifically related to the players' issues, but we need to get rid of them and bring in a proper professional board to run Welsh Rugby.  If you look at their biographies, all of these people proudly advertise that they've been a member of their club for 50 years and bring that much experience to the table, but none of them has any experience in running a £100m business.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote *Stalwart Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Mar 2023 at 10:01
The problems you identify with those running Welsh rugby also apply to the RFU Mark. Will Carling's assessment all those years ago still applies to many of them it seems. Then you get people like Sweeney who did a hatchet job with the tennis federation then turns up at the RFU and makes a complete pig's ear of pretty much everything. The root of the problem, I reckon, is that they have zero interest in the game as a whole and are obsessed with the top flight and the national team - and they are both basket cases anyway!
One thing that never seems to be mentioned is the brilliant community work the Championship clubs do in their localities - this is certainly the case at The Pirates and I'm sure it's so with most of the other clubs in this league.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Camquin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Mar 2023 at 10:07
In the past the RFU was run by the elected officials on the council, and the clubs could theoretically replace them.
Now it is run by the professional managers, with the council merely a rubber stamp.
The question is how do you get rid of an appointed Executive.
Which is why we need the clubs to submit calls for an SGM.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Mark W-J Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Mar 2023 at 22:59
The latest I've heard on the Scrum V podcast is that there are maybe 25-30 players on central contracts which were 80% funded by the WRU, but the regions are now having to pay 100%. So if a player is on a contract worth £300k, this year the WRU have paid £240k and the region £60k, but from next season the region bears the full brunt. And yet the regions still don't know how much funding they have and are unable to offer contracts to players whose current deals expire in three months' time.

Edited by Mark W-J - 02 Mar 2023 at 22:59
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Steve@Mose Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Mar 2023 at 13:12
Welsh rugby: Player welfare concerns over squad size cuts

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Concerns have been raised over player welfare as the regions prepare to have their squads severely reduced.

Cardiff, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets are working towards squad budgets of £5.2m for the 2023-24 season and £4.5m in the following campaign.

The Welsh Rugby Union said it anticipates regional squads to be around 44 players.

However regional head coaches have said the real figure is expected to be closer to just 38 next season.

The shortage for the 2023-24 campaign - described as a "reset" by Cardiff head coach Dai Young - is raising concerns over the demand on a smaller group and the potential dangers of relying on academy players.

Coaches work on the basis of having 20% of their squad unavailable due to injury at any given time during the season.

However international calls ups to the senior and under-20 teams could then leave regions struggling to field a match-day squad of 23 players, particularly during the autumn Test series and Six Nations.

The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) insists talks are ongoing to ensure that does not happen.
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