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'Pivotal' deal will benefit young Premiership talent

BATH, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 08: Tyler Offiah of Bath Rugby runs in his team's seventh try during the Premiership Rugby Cup match between Bath Rugby and Ampthill Rugby at Recreation Ground on February 08, 2025 in Bath, England. (Photo by Patrick Khachfe/Getty Images)

Premiership Rugby Academy players will be guaranteed a minimum wage from the start of the 2025/26 season following a landmark agreement between the Rugby Players’ Association (RPA) and Premiership Rugby, which has been approved by the Professional Game Board.

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Previously wages varied from club to club but from now on, academy players will receive two-year, fixed-term ‘rookie’ wages split into two categories.

Under 19 Academy players will receive £18,200 per annum, while Under 20s will be paid £20,200. Once a player plays in eight Premiership or European matches the club can top up these wages.

The introduction of fair baseline wages for Academy players was a major part of Christian Day’s manifesto to be elected as General Secretary of the RPA and the former England Saxons lock is delighted to have got the deal over the line.

“We are delighted to complete this vital piece of work in collaboration with Premiership Rugby,” he said.

“One of the key targets for the RPA in becoming signatories to the Professional Game Partnership was to ensure that all full-time young players had the opportunity to perform at their best on the field of play by receiving the security of a fair baseline of financial income off it.

“The introduction of these Rookie wages alongside the advancement of other contractual regulations will help ensure that young players in England have the best opportunity possible to reach their potential.”

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Now retired Gloucester player and former RPA Vice Chair, Harry Elrington, was another big driving force behind the initiative which provides greater financial security to the next generation of elite players.

He said: “The introduction of a new Premiership Rookie Fixed Academy Wage marks a pivotal moment for young players entering the game. These will have a positive impact throughout the league with the reassurance that all full-time players progressing through the academy system will receive a level of pay that allows them to focus on their rugby and development.”

The new deal will benefit many of the players on show at this Sunday’s Premiership Rugby U18s Academy Final Day 2025, at Kingsholm Stadium. Northampton Saints take on Bath in a repeat of the 2024 Gallagher Premiership Final, with the showpiece match kicking off at 7.05 pm. Entry to the match is free.

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Comments

5 Comments
D
DS 124 days ago

Great to hear that a wage structure has been sorted, but without the likes of the old “A League” or similar, some still won’t get the essential game time to develop them.

A
AD 124 days ago

Great that this is being addressed but unless my maths have gone wrong, isn't that less than national minimum wage in both age categories?


Unless it's being counted as some kind of apprenticeship scheme?

B
Bob Salad II 124 days ago

[…] the club can top up these wages


Presumably they will.

J
Jon 124 days ago

Unless these figures are out of date, then it falls within those boundaries:


18 to 20 years old: The minimum wage is £8.60 per hour, which equates to at least £17,888 per year for someone working 40 hours per week 

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f
fl 36 minutes ago
Ex-Wallaby laughs off claims Bath are amongst the best in the world

I ultimately don’t care who the best club team in the world is, so yeah, lets agree to disagree on that.


I would appreciate clarity on a couple of things though:

Where did I contradict myself?

Saying “Trophies matter. They matter a lot. But so does winning games. So does making finals.” is entirely compatible with ranking a team as the best - over an extended period - when they have won more games and made more finals than other comparable teams. It would be contradictory for me to say “Trophies matter. They matter a lot. But so does winning games. So does making finals.” and then completely ignore Leinster record of winning games and making finals.


“You can get frustrated and say I am not reading what you write, but when you quote me, then your first line is to say thats true (what I wrote), but by the end of the paragraph have stated something different, thats where you contradict yourself.”

What you said (that I think trophies matter) is true, in that I said “Trophies matter. They matter a lot. But so does winning games. So does making finals.”. Do you understand that Leinster won more games and made more finals than any other (URC-based) team did under the period under consideration?


“Pointless comparison on Blackburn and Tottenham to this discussion as no-one includes them on a list of the best club. I would say that Blackburns title season was better than anything Tottenham have done in the Premier League. My reference to the league was that the team who finished second over two seasons are not better than the two other teams who did win the league each time. One of the best - of course, but not the best, which is relevant to my point here about Leinster, not comparing teams who won 30 years ago against a team that never won.”

I really don’t understand why you would think that this is irrelevant. You seem to be saying that winning trophies is the only thing that matters when assessing who is the best, but doesn’t matter at all when assessing who is 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc.


“What I referred to in my Leinster wouldn’t say the were the best is your post earlier where you said Leinster were the best overall. You said that in two separate posts. Seasons dont work like that, they are individual. Unless the same team keeps winning then you can say they were the best over a period of time and group them, but thats not the case here.”

Well then we’ve just been talking at cross purposes. In that my position (that Leinster were the best team overall in 2022-2024) was pretty clear, and you just decided to respond to a different point (whether Leinster were the best team individually in particular years) essentially making the entire discussion completely pointless. I guess if you think that trophies are the only thing that matters then it makes sense to see the season as an individual event that culminates in a trophy (or not), whereas because I believe that trophies matter a lot, but that so does winning matches and making finals, it makes it easier for me to consider quality over an extended period.

24 Go to comments
M
MT 58 minutes ago
Ex-Wallaby laughs off claims Bath are amongst the best in the world

As I said in one of my first replies to you - we can agree to disagree. If you want to leave it no problem. I completely disagree with your ranking of Leinster as the best team in the world. Now you have said you will change it if Bordeaux win the Top 14. Well as Leinster themselves prioritise the CC over the URC and Bordeaux won the CC, how are they not ranked higher by you? Are Leinster one of the best teams, yeah - never said they weren’t. But not the very best team, as the very best team have trophies to show for their seasons. They matter when you discuss the very best.


You can get frustrated and say I am not reading what you write, but when you quote me, then your first line is to say thats true (what I wrote), but by the end of the paragraph have stated something different, thats where you contradict yourself. Just so we are clear, you said you would too on my statement that I would rather be a fan of a team that won a trophy over the three seasons, but end the paragraph saying you would rather be a fan of the team that won the most matches but didn’t win a trophy. Both cant be true. Thats one example of where you contradict yourself.


Pointless comparison on Blackburn and Tottenham to this discussion as no-one includes them on a list of the best club. I would say that Blackburns title season was better than anything Tottenham have done in the Premier League. My reference to the league was that the team who finished second over two seasons are not better than the two other teams who did win the league each time. One of the best - of course, but not the best, which is relevant to my point here about Leinster, not comparing teams who won 30 years ago against a team that never won.


What I referred to in my Leinster wouldn’t say the were the best is your post earlier where you said Leinster were the best overall. You said that in two separate posts. Seasons dont work like that, they are individual. Unless the same team keeps winning then you can say they were the best over a period of time and group them, but thats not the case here.

24 Go to comments
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