Clock ticking for Waratahs after Rugby Australia fail to agree Easter pay deal with players' union

An anticipated Easter resolution to the pay talks between Rugby Australia and the players’ union hasn’t eventuated by early Monday evening, with the clock now ticking especially loud for the NSW Waratahs.

Going into Easter RA had been optimistic of getting a deal on salary cuts done with the Rugby Union Players’ Association (RUPA) by the end of the holiday period.

However, there was no formal phone hookup between the two parties on Monday and by the evening there was no details of any official talks scheduled for Tuesday.

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The Waratahs players are scheduled to be paid on Wednesday and it was hoped an agreement would be struck before then.

The NSW Rugby Union board is not expected to meet before then, though CEO Paul Doorn and Waratahs chairman Roger Davis are in regular contact.

It’s believed RA has proposed a 65% pay cut for the country’s Super Rugby players over a six-month period.

RUPA is believed to be concerned about committing to a six-month deal, especially if play resumed within that period

NSW Rugby stood down a significant portion of its non-playing workforce, believed to be around 70%, back on April 1.

Standing down their players without pay is one option if a deal isn’t reached before Wednesday, but is being considered more as a last resort.

Another option would be to pay them in full on Wednesday and take a backdated bigger portion than the eventually agreed percentage out of future wages.