Wallaby and Rugby Union Players’ Association president Tom Robertson has criticised Rugby Australia’s decision to “go directly to players” amid an increasingly bitter pay dispute, after a letter signed by chief executive Phil Waugh was emailed to players, including the Wallabies squad in London.
In a combative response, RA chairman Dan Herbert said the RUPA’s “current leadership team has lost its way”, while stressing this does not include players themselves.
Herbert also warned that the RUPA’s demands threaten the future of rugby in Australia. Herbert served as president from 2002 until 2003 and said this dispute will be remembered as the most regrettable period in the organisation’s history.
The letter from RA to players obtained by this masthead included an offer to increase some Test match payments to $20,000 plus World Cup tournament win bonuses of $175,000. Robertson said the current offer on the table from RA would mean “players would actually go backwards [financially]”.
Herbert refuted that statement, arguing the current offer on the table from RA “improves the outcomes for the current generation of players” while also establishing “a long-term sustainable model for the game”.
Robertson has played 38 times for the Wallabies and is in his third year as RUPA president. In a statement, the Western Force prop said leaders within the Wallabies squad hadn’t been “comfortable” engaging directly with RA on the pay dispute, after two previous attempts to engage had been made.
“It’s disappointing that RA has chosen to go directly to players, particularly while the Wallabies are on tour,” Robertson said.
“We have a Player Advisory Group and elected representatives for a reason. It’s how players have their say and make sure their interests are properly represented. We also have paid representatives whose job it is to represent the playing group, who are in contact with players on a daily basis and know the difficulties the current CBA creates for players.
“RA’s leadership had previously asked to present directly to players on two occasions, and our player leaders weren’t comfortable with that.
“There’s an obvious imbalance between an employer and individual players when discussing complex financial negotiations, and we explained those concerns respectfully to RA at the time. For RA to now write directly to players anyway, knowing how and why we had raised those concerns, is pretty disappointing.”
Herbert responded that RA had engaged with players after the CBA had expired, a decision he said was “entirely reasonable”.
“Rugby Australia requested on several occasions during the CBA process permission to speak directly with the players,” Herbert said.
“These were rejected by RUPA and RA respected the agreed bargaining protocols. With the CBA expired, RA wrote to the players to outline its offer to RUPA and assure them that all payments and entitlements would be honoured going forward, as is entirely reasonable.”
Robertson also stressed that the Wallabies “have never been more united or more supportive of RUPA” as the pay dispute continues.
“The offer RA has outlined isn’t new to players. We’ve been kept informed throughout, and our Player Advisory Group has considered and rejected it. What RA’s letter doesn’t explain is what’s still missing and that, under the current offer, players would actually go backwards,” Robertson said.
A major sticking point in the negotiations remains health insurance, with Robertson maintaining that some players have been left out of pocket for major medical expenses before waiting for reimbursement from RA.
The Wallabies prop also outlined the financial pressure that has forced some players to seek additional employment or utilise friends and family for support.
“Rugby Australia’s letter talks about providing fair pay and conditions for everyone, and that’s exactly what we’re asking for,” Robertson said.
“We have young players earning minimum wage and below, often relocating interstate and living away from home for the first time, who are required to take out their own private health insurance and can then be left paying thousands of dollars upfront for surgery before seeking reimbursement.
RUPA informed RA they are commencing legal action over player image rights, with the matter still needing to be filed in the NSW Supreme Court. “Nobody wants to end up in court, but RA has known about the Players’ Property Trust for months and we fully support RUPA taking the necessary steps to protect our rights,” Robertson said.
Statement from RUPA President Tom Robertson
It’s disappointing that RA has chosen to go directly to players, particularly while the Wallabies are on tour. We have a Player Advisory Group and elected representatives for a reason. It’s how players have their say and make sure their interests are properly represented. We also have paid representatives whose job it is to represent the playing group, who are in contact with players on a daily basis and know the difficulties the current CBA creates for players.
RA’s leadership had previously asked to present directly to players on two occasions, and our player leaders weren’t comfortable with that. There’s an obvious imbalance between an employer and individual players when discussing complex financial negotiations, and we explained those concerns respectfully to RA at the time. For RA to now write directly to players anyway, knowing how and why we had raised those concerns, is pretty disappointing.
The players have never been more united or more supportive of RUPA. We know how much work goes into these negotiations, and we have complete confidence in the people we’ve appointed to represent us.
The offer RA has outlined isn’t new to players. We’ve been kept informed throughout, and our Player Advisory Group has considered and rejected it. What RA’s letter doesn’t explain is what’s still missing and that under the current offer players would actually go backwards.
Rugby Australia’s letter talks about providing fair pay and conditions for everyone, and that’s exactly what we’re asking for. We have young players earning minimum wage and below, often relocating interstate and living away from home for the first time, who are required to take out their own private health insurance and can then be left paying thousands of dollars upfront for surgery before seeking reimbursement. When you consider the other costs players bear just to pursue a professional rugby career, there’s often nothing left over. Players are taking up second jobs, borrowing from friends and family, and using credit cards just to be able to reach a liveable wage.
These are basic protections we’re still having to fight for, alongside proper career-ending injury cover and fair conditions across the men’s and women’s game. If we’re serious about attracting and keeping talent in Australian rugby, we need to do better.
Nobody wants to end up in court, but RA has known about the Players’ Property Trust for months and we fully support RUPA taking the necessary steps to protect our rights. Similar structures is in place in other sports in Australia, and in other rugby playing nations around the world, so it is nothing new or unreasonable, and the goal is actually to work with the Rugby Bodies to grow the pie commercially.
We don’t think an agreement is out of reach. RUPA has put forward revised proposals that have substantially narrowed the differences, and we want to give the game certainty. Players encourage RA to engage with our representatives, and try to negotiate the remaining issues. In the meantime, players just want to focus on playing footy.
Statement from RA Chairman Dan Herbert
Rugby Australia, as custodians of the game, take seriously our responsibility to protect and promote Australian Rugby now and into the future.
After a period of careful planning and execution, Rugby Australia has within the last year emerged from debt and consistently outlined the need to use the one-off hosting fee from the 2027 and 2029 Rugby World Cups in Australia to ensure a financially sustainable future for the whole game.
Rugby Australia and the Super Rugby Clubs have put forward a position to RUPA which rewards the players of today by increasing minimum payments across all international programs, increasing the Super Rugby salary cap, establishing a full-time professional women’s XV program that more than doubles the number of full-time professional women’s rugby players in Australia, increasing bonuses for success in the Bledisloe Cup and The Rugby Championship, providing equitable bonuses for Wallabies and Wallaroos performance in their respective home Rugby World Cups and materially increasing the player’s guaranteed share of gross player revenue.
This position improves the outcomes for the current generation of players while allowing Rugby Australia and Super Rugby Clubs to establish a long-term sustainable model for the game.
RUPA has rejected this position and put forward proposals that threaten the future of the game in Australia by seeking unreasonable increases in payments and entitlements that Australian Rugby revenue cannot support.
Rugby Australia requested on several occasions during the CBA process permission to speak directly with the players. These were rejected by RUPA and RA respected the agreed bargaining protocols. With the CBA expired, RA wrote to the players to outline its offer to RUPA and assure them that all payments and entitlements would be honoured going forward, as is entirely reasonable.
As a proud former President of RUPA, I am disappointed that the organisation’s current leadership team has lost its way. This is in no way a commentary on the players, for whom we hold the deepest respect, but a RUPA leadership that has lost sight of its charter “for the players and the game”. Demands that risk the game’s future, threats of legal action and divisive public statements in Test weeks will be remembered as the most regrettable period in the organisation’s history.
Previous iterations of RUPA have worked constructively with Rugby Australia and Super Rugby Clubs to establish some of the best working conditions in international rugby. We are proud of this and have engaged in good faith over the past few months in the hope we could build upon them and reach a mutually agreeable solution before the expiration of the CBA.
Rugby Australia and Super Rugby Clubs cannot support the current RUPA leadership’s position and the real gap that exists between their demands and what the game can afford. To be clear, our disagreement is with RUPA leadership, not the players. We value the players’ contribution to the game and will continue working towards a solution that rewards them and all the generations to follow.
The aftermath of the 2003 Rugby World Cup is a sobering reminder of what is lost when short-term spending is not balanced with longer-term investment.
Rugby Australia and the Super Rugby Clubs are committed to learning from our own history and building a sustainable and successful model now and in perpetuity.
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