Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
NZ NZ

New salary cap agreed as WRU sign six-year deal

By Ian Cameron
(Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) and the country’s four regions have agreed to a new financial package aimed at enabling sustainability and growth over the next six years.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Professional Rugby Board (PRB) confirmed on Thursday that it has signed a new long-form Professional Rugby Agreement (PRA) with all parties, including the WRU, Cardiff Rugby, the Dragons, the Ospreys, and the Scarlets, bound by its terms until 2029.

The new PRA will provide a financial framework that is made up of new funding from the WRU and club shareholders to create a sustainable platform for progress. It will also provide financial predictability for the professional game in Wales, with homegrown player development being a key objective for all parties.

Video Spacer

Video Spacer

PRB chair Malcolm Wall said, “It is no exaggeration to say a great deal of work, time and effort has gone into establishing an agreement all parties can be happy with and which is designed to achieve the very best results for Welsh professional rugby from the resources available to us.”

The new PRA will introduce salary caps from the 2023/24 season, with two types of contracts on offer – fixed contracts and those with both a fixed and variable element linked to appearances and performances. All contracts will be held by a central clearing house to monitor spending, ensure contract compliance, and effect a new player-loan system across clubs.

Contracts for players of national interest will be agreed by the club and the WRU Performance Director, while all clubs are committed to a minimum spend on player academies. Additionally, all clubs will be subject to regular audits of squad expenditures, contracts, business plans, and academy performance.

The clubs have also committed to centralising aspects of their commercial operations, with work already in process in this area. Welsh Rugby Players Association CEO Gareth Lewis has welcomed the agreement, stating, “The cooperation between the WRU, our professional clubs and the WRPA has been a vitally important part of this process and we will continue to work together for the future benefit of Welsh rugby.”

ADVERTISEMENT

The PRB comprises representatives from each of the five professional entities in Welsh rugby, including four regional representatives, acting WRU CEO Nigel Walker, WRU finance director Tim Moss, and two independent members – Malcolm Wall, as chair, and Marianne Økland.

WRU CEO Nigel Walker said, “Our objective has been to achieve a sustainable future for our four professional sides and for Wales, and credit must go to all involved now this has been achieved. We now have a structure which will provide a backdrop of stability from which we can build.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Join free

Rugby Europe Men's Championship Final | Georgia v Portugal | Full Match Replay

Japan Rugby League One | Verblitz v Sungoliath | Full Match Replay

Stronger Than You Think | S2 Ep 2 | Lola Lovinfosse

Boks Office | Episode 9 | Six Nations Round 4 Review

Beyond 80 | Episode 4

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | Who can truly be called the best rugby side in the world

Justin Marshall | The Big Jim Show | Full Episode

Sevens Challenger Montevideo - Day 3

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

A
Adrian 57 minutes ago
Reds are carrying the Australian flag on and off the pitch

Thanks Nick, and totally correct. Definately too many teams which is unfortunately an effect of the 21st century hubris that began after our 2nd World Cup win. Honestly we weren't like that before then. If NZ beat us in a Rugby League or cricket series (which has occasionally happened) they don't all of a sudden think they are our equal or even better than us. Unfortunately for Australia, we got carried away with ourselves and wanted to jump from 4th biggest football code to biggest…in 5 minutes. More teams, more matches against the All Blacks (so we could beat them even more). Bring it on. It’s been all down hill since then. Assuming Melbourne are gone, there are very good reasons to keep the remaining 4 in SR, or so it would seem. The Force?…wronged previously, and have $s. Surely not. The Brumbies?….easily the best performed. Surely not. The Waratahs?….most players (50%) and most followers. Surely not. The Reds?….easily the best current team, and nearly as many players and followers as the Waratahs. Surely not. I’d argue that based on how strong the combined Reds n Rebs would be and how strong a combined team of all of the other Oz SR teams would be, we have players for 2 teams…..which would be good. Good enough for a propper SR competition…or maybe good enough for Japan….if they’ll have us. Existing SR teams?….keep them and have them play a second tier…or maybe NZ's NRC….if they'll have us. This is biting the bullet. We have the cattle

1 Go to comments
M
Mzilikazi 2 hours ago
How England reverse-engineered unlikely attacking change

Thanks, Nick, not only for this fine article, but for all the others during 6N 2024. I really enjoyed this 2024 tournament, and felt it was one of the best for many years. That final match in Lyons was really good. England were certainly unlucky when that speculative hack by Ramos lead to a French try. It could just so easily have landed in English hand.s, and they score at the other end. I did think though that the French played some great rugby, and some of their driving play in the forwards was just fearsome. I watched Meafou with interest, and he has a good start to his career. It is interesting to compare him with Will Skelton. Lot of similarities, though so far Meafou has not shown any offloading threat. All credit to Borthwick for being prepared to change, and what great result, even if that last game was lost at the death. I feel they are a real chance to cause the AB’s problems this winter/summer. Finally a comment on Ireland. I thought their last game was their worst, and they did not look like the world’s No 2 side at all. What really worries me is that the loss to England was, in my view, down to poor decision making by the coaching group, and ofc Andy Farrell wears that. It was a big mistake to move JGP away from scrum half. Murray should have been the one to go to the wing. And the “finishers” should have been on the field earlier. And this is the second time this has happened. The RWC Qf against the AB’s, and not getting Crowley onto the field was a huge mistake. Finally, finally, watching Italy play was a joy. How wonderful that they are no longer the punchbag of the 6 N.

44 Go to comments
FEATURE
FEATURE RugbyPass' team of the Six Nations RugbyPass' team of the Six Nations
Search