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Wales’ players are set to receive around £9,000 per game in this summer’s Nations Championship following the resolution of this week’s pay dispute with Welsh Rugby Union bosses.
The preparations for Saturday’s match against Fiji were thrown into disarray on Wednesday after it emerged that players were locked in meetings with WRU bosses over match fees. A press conference scheduled for the afternoon was cancelled as the playing group decided against doing media duties while talks were still ongoing over what the governing body dubbed “employment terms”.
Disputes over match fees are not a new thing for Welsh rugby, with the national team having come close to striking on previous occasions.
Industrial action was not specifically threatened on this occasion, with the dispute resolved late on Wednesday afternoon. However, sources suggested there were various moments this week where things could have easily gone the other way.
In the end, an agreement was reached – with WalesOnline understanding that the basic match fees for this year’s Nations Championship Tests against Fiji, Argentina, South Africa, Japan, New Zealand and Australia being brought into line with their Six Nations pay.
During the Six Nations, Wales’ players within the matchday 23 will be paid around £9,000 – with a £4,000 win bonus on top of that.
There are other performance-based bonuses on top of that, based on where Wales finish in the table and whether they win a Grand Slam or not.
There’s also image rights, but they are understood to be minimal.
Obviously, the dispute this week concerned the new Nations Championship tournament – which will replace traditional summer and autumn Test windows.
It’s understood that the WRU had told players that they could not offer the same basic terms as the Six Nations – with the initial offer believed to be around £6,000 per match for this summer’s tournament.
However, Wednesday’s meetings saw that raised to £9,000 – although they won’t have the same win bonuses as the Six Nations.
It’s understood instead that, were Wales to win all of their seven matches throughout the tournament, they would receive a £10,000 bonus in addition to their basic fees.
Players who aren’t involved in the matchday squad also get a daily allowance.
In the Six Nations, that’s believed to be around £300 a day – but for the Nations Championship, it will be slightly less.
For context, England’s match fees were previously around £23,000 per game.
However, that has changed recently. With most of their players on the enhanced ‘Elite Player Squad’ contracts – which are hybrid deals for the top 25 men’s players across the border – England’s top stars are instead offered guaranteed annual salaries instead of match fees, which are around £160,000.
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