The Wallabies expressed confidence a pay war with Rugby Australia won’t be a distraction on the spring tour, after RA went on the offensive by writing to all players with details of their offer, which includes upping some Test match payments to $20,000 and Rugby World Cup win bonuses of $175,000 for both the Wallabies and the Wallaroos.
But the Rugby Australia letter, signed by chief executive Phil Waugh, also contained a warning that players are still contractually obliged to do commercial and media work with RA, even though there is no collective bargaining agreement in place.
The players and RA are at loggerheads after negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) failed to reach agreement by the October 31 deadline, when the previous CBA expired.
The Rugby Union Players’ Association (RUPA) informed RA they are commencing legal action over player image rights, with the matter likely to be heard in the NSW Supreme Court on Friday. The fight is over RUPA’s creation of a new trust to house player image rights.
But in a letter sent to every professional Australian player on Tuesday, which was obtained by this masthead, Waugh said the “Rugby Bodies” (Rugby Australia and the Super Rugby franchises) did not accept the new trust holds the rights.
And in an apparent attempt to pre-empt any move by players to boycott commercial activities or broadcast commitments, or wear protest shirts, given there is no CBA, Waugh said those duties are all contained in players’ individual contracts.
“Players must continue to meet their obligations under the relevant terms of Schedule A, including commercial and promotional appearances … media and broadcast partner commitments, social media posts requested by a Rugby Body on 24 hours’ notice [and] the rules on team clothing, boots and tools of trade,” the letter said.
Pertaining to the Wallabies, the letter says: “Commercial, media and promotional activities on tour continue as usual, as scheduled by team management and within the limits in each player’s contract. The Wallabies Team Protocols, including the sponsorship, appearance and dress requirements, continue to apply.”
The RA missive comes after Waugh said at the weekend the governing body had been denied the opportunity to address players by RUPA.
“This letter is the first opportunity the Rugby Bodies have had to put their position to you directly,” Waugh wrote.
The letter claims to lay out the offer made by the Rugby Bodies to RUPA, including a minimum of $158.5 million in player payments, an increase from 29 per cent to 32 per cent of Gross Player Revenue. There would also be an increase of national contract money by a third in men’s rugby, up to $8 million a year, and a 90 per cent increase in funding for the “Women’s Integrated Rugby Program”, to $3.5 million. The letter also says the number of full-time Wallaroos players will be doubled.
RA proposed to increase the Super Rugby salary cap floor to $5 million (up from $4.5 million), rising to $5.8 million in 2030. There is also a lift in minimum full-time player salaries ($65,000) and core player salaries ($85,000), with a $2500 rise each year.
The Wallabies have also been offered increases in win bonuses from $12,000 to $20,000, but only for Rugby Championship and Bledisloe Cup matches, the letter states.
The letter also reveals the usually secretive Rugby World Cup win bonuses, which would be the same for both men and women national players in the 2027 and 2029 tournaments, “of $50,000 per player for a semi-final win and $175,000 per player for winning the tournament (inclusive of the semi-final bonus), for each member of the 33-player squad”.
The Wallabies’ win bonus is the same as at the 2023 tournament, but the sum for making the final has doubled.
This letter is the first opportunity the Rugby Bodies have had to put their position to you directly
RA boss Phil Waugh in a letter to players
Waugh also laid out RA’s position on the legal battleground of player image rights, after RUPA moved to create a new trust to look after the players’ image rights.
“RUPA has established the Rugby Union Players’ Property Trust (the Trust) and has advised the Rugby Bodies that, from 1 November 2026, the Trust holds the rights to the use of the name, image and likeness of players who have signed a deed in its favour. The Rugby Bodies do not accept that the Trust holds any rights that displace the rights granted, and consents given, by players under their contracts, and have said so to RUPA in writing,” Waugh wrote.
“RUPA has told the Rugby Bodies that it disagrees with this position and that, unless agreement is reached first, it intends to ask the Supreme Court of New South Wales to decide the question. Until the Supreme Court provides a ruling, each player’s contract, pay and conditions and the arrangements described in this letter continue, and players are expected to continue to meet their obligations under their contracts.”
Speaking to media at the Wallabies’ team hotel in London, veteran Kurtley Beale and assistant coach Jonny Fisher both said they weren’t across the detail of the pay dispute.
Asked whether it could prove to be a distraction to Wallabies players, Fisher said: “That’s probably a good insight. I have no understanding because I have seen no mention or discussion or any suggestion that there will be a distraction for them.
“They’re wearing the Wallaby jersey at the weekend. From my experience of working with these players, that’s everything for them. The rest will be taken care of by the people they’re entrusting to take care of that particular aspect.”
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Iain Payten is a senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.From our partners
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