English rugby’s players’ union rejects permanent pay cuts

The Rugby Players’ Association in England will reject calls from Premiership clubs to impose permanent pay cuts.

The news emerged as Lance Bradley, the Gloucester chief executive, said he did not expect training to resume until July, which means the league will not return before August.

Premiership teams were hoping to maintain indefinitely the 25 per cent salary deductions imposed soon after the league was put in hiatus on March 16 because of coronavirus.

However, while the RPA accepted temporary cuts in extraordinary circumstances, its board voted unanimously to reject those becoming permanent.

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The RPA had come under pressure since it emerged that a rival union was going to be set up by Ellis Genge, the Leicester and England prop, with some players unhappy at being forced to accept cuts or being put on furlough.

However, while Damian Hopley, the chief executive, was prepared to be flexible in the short term, he is determined to put his foot down in this instance.

His case has been helped by divisions within Premiership Rugby’s plan to collectively implement the cuts. Stephen Lansdown, the owner of Bristol Bears, last week said that clubs cutting wages would bring the league into “disrepute”.

Bristol is home to a number of New Zealand players, including former All Blacks Charles Piutau and Steven Luatua.

That split in the league is evident in discussions over the salary cap, with Worcester, Newcastle, Leicester, Sale, Gloucester and London Irish understood to be pushing for major reductions from the present £7 million ($14 million) limit.

Meanwhile, Bradley said he did not expect training to restart until July.

“A return to training is now expected to be a month away,” he told Gloucester’s website.

The owner of Waisake Naholo’s UK side, London Irish, has previously revealed he shovelled $8 million of his own money into the club last season and believes the coronavirus crisis could end the era of big spending and unsustainable player wages.

“Last season cost me £4 million [$8.2m] and I can’t afford that,” London Irish owner Mick Crossan told the Mirror in the UK.

“Club rugby has to change. We can’t keep relying on rich benefactors.

“It’s definitely not a sustainable business. Everyone’s suffering.

“This crisis may actually be a saving grace for club rugby, in the respect…