Eddie Jones 'immediately agreed' to pay cut in excess of £187,500
England boss Eddie Jones has agreed to a pay cut in excess of 25 per cent during the coronavirus shutdown.
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is facing revenue losses in the region of £45-50million over the next 18 months as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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The English governing body’s executive team agreed pay cuts above 25 per cent on Wednesday, and just a day later head coach Jones has now agreed to follow suit.
Jones is the highest paid coach in international rugby, earning in the region of £750,000 per year.
The 60-year-old’s current deal expires in July 2021 and as yet there has been no move to extend his contract until the next World Cup in 2023.
Chief executive Bill Sweeney revealed he has spoken to Jones, who has given the green light to the pay reduction while all rugby is suspended due to the global Covid-19 pandemic.
The RFU is now understood to be in consultation with the wider England coaching staff about temporary salary reductions, but Jones has already assented.
“Eddie is overseas at present and when I contacted him regarding our executive pay reduction proposals he immediately agreed,” said Sweeney.
Twickenham had already forecast losses in 2020 due to the cost of last summer’s World Cup campaign and only hosting two Six Nations games, but that has escalated due to the Covid-19 crisis.
A funding package worth £7million to provide support for clubs in England below the second tier Greene King IPA Championship, including £5million in loans, has been put together.
Many Gallagher Premiership clubs have agreed 25 per cent wage cuts with players, although this has met with some opposition.
Press Association
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Jalibert should be banned from playing for the French ever again, his rank and self-serving arrogance is so typical of the attitude in French rugby and in their culture as well. I am a Saffa and have lived in France for many years and, generally speaking, it's every man for himself, the team comes 2nd or even 3rd sometimes. The Boks show humility and team spirit and play for their country, never themselves......
Go to commentsI remember there was rhetoric about the new coach coming in and continuing the same system Jones installed. That's obviously gone out the window. It was cool watching those clips from the NZ tour, that was a serious Wolfpack. AB players looked like they were being hunted.
What we have now is a shambles. It clear El Abd doesn't know what he's doing and he has no track record to indicate otherwise. His appointment is ridiculous. Nothing against the bloke but he's only got the job because he's mates with Borthers.
When you look at how poorly organised our defence is and how blunt our attack is (Marcus excepted). It pains me to hear these so called pundits banging on about how close England are to being a top side based on narrow losses. England have massive issues, are a long way from being a good side and do not have the coaches to fix the issues. It's a testament to the quality of the players that they're managing to front up enough to compete with these sides.
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