Brad Thorn 'livid' as Reds trio consider their options following pay cut refusals
Reds head coach Brad Thorn is reportedly ‘livid’ at the three Reds players who have been stood down by the Queensland Rugby Union after refusing to take short-term pay cuts.
Wallabies second rower Izack Rodda, emerging playmaker Isaac Lucas and young lock Harry Hockings, who all share the same agent, have opted against taking a competition-wide salary slash and register for the government’s JobKeeper subsidy.
The rejection to take such action comes at a time when rugby in Australia faces an uncertain financial future due to the coronavirus pandemic, with the game’s governing body in the country staring down the barrel of a $120m deficit for 2020.
According to a report from the Sydney Morning Herald, all three players – who played a big part in Thorn’s plans for the future – are unhappy at the Reds and are now considering their options elsewhere.
Lucas, signed until 2023, and Hockings, who is off contract next year, are believed to be pursuing deals in Japan, while 25-test Rodda wanted a move to another Australian franchise.
Rodda’s desire to make an inbound transfer comes after the 23-year-old revealed his disappointment in missing out on the Reds’ captaincy role this year, with Thorn instead handing the position to one-cap flanker Liam Wright.
“At first it was a pretty hard pill to swallow,” Rodda told AAP in January. “It left me questioning what else I had to do to get it … it’s hard to swallow your pride.”
The Herald says that Rodda now has a “severely strained” relationship with Thorn, who is reportedly so angered by the trio’s decision to turn down the salary cuts that he hasn’t spoken to them since.
The pay cut deal brokered by Rugby Australia and the Rugby Union Players’ Association will see players lose around 60 percent of their income over six months in a much-needed cost-cutting measure.
Rodda, who the Herald reports is on a salary worth A$650,000, would have been eligible for a six-month sabbatical between 2021 and 2023 had he agreed to the pay slash as any player who stands to lose A$200,000 over the six month period, up until September 30, would qualify for the provision.
Three Queensland Reds players, including a Wallabies star, have been stood down without pay after refusing Rugby Australia's competition-wide player pay-cut proposal.https://t.co/5dn3W6nKay
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) May 17, 2020
Instead, the experienced Wallaby could well take his talents abroad as he, as well as Lucas and Hockings, weigh up their legal options in a move that would put a dent in new Australia head coach Dave Rennie’s plans prior to his arrival in July.
The Herald states that all three players are deeply concerned about the financial state of the sport in Australia and about their wellbeing of their contracts beyond this year as the economic implications of COVID-19 continue to wreak havoc worldwide.
“These situations are unprecedented, so everyone deals with the emotion of this in different ways. To be honest I think it’s a question for the players around their view of it,” QRU boss David Hanham said.
“They’ve obviously got their concerns. They’ve got a lot of mates here and they love playing rugby here. This is a global pandemic and clearly there are some things that are making them nervous.
“You come back to our values; with the team it’s about mateship, it’s about accountability, it’s about resilience, it’s about care for the cause. When you put your heart and soul into it, clearly people that are a part of that feel they want to be on that journey and others make a decision not to.”
Comments on RugbyPass
In the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getitng to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
5 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
6 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
5 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
6 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
54 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
54 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
6 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
54 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
55 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
54 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
54 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
18 Go to comments