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Provincial unions at risk of pulling out of Mitre 10 Cup due to player payment concerns

By Online Editors
(Photo by Dianne Manson/Getty Images)

Four provincial unions – Taranaki, Northland, Southland and North Harbour – may be forced to pull out of this year’s Mitre 10 Cup competition over fears they will not be able to pay their players.

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While eight other unions have committed to the competition, Wellington and Otago are also understood to be “on the fence” in similar precarious positions.

North Harbour Rugby chairman Gerard van Tilborg says the situation is dire and can be saved only by the players agreeing to take far less than they are now.

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“Harbour is absolutely committed to playing in a provincial union competition provided it can be adequately funded,” van Tilborg said. “The situation in negotiations between New Zealand Rugby and the Players’ Association are making that marginal.

“The cuts aren’t big enough. We’ve had staff take cuts between 45 and 30 per cent salary. We’ve spoken to most of our players who have been very supportive but we obviously can’t go outside the collective and we need to provide a similar bottom-end ratio of roughly a 30 per cent cut to make [fielding a team] viable.

“If we can’t, we’ll consider what our options are when and if we see what the competition looks like. With teams potentially pulling out what is it going to look like?

“We’re not going to wreck the union for something that is unsustainable.”

Provincial unions have been locked in negotiations with the Players’ Association for the past month as attempts continue to agree a wage-cut figure that will allow the tournament to progress with all 14 teams involved.

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As it stands, significant concessions are required for all teams to make the revised September 11 start line.

Provincial union sources have told the Herald that they and the Players’ Association are “10 per cent apart” over an agreed wage cut, but Nichol disputes this, saying that meetings today between his organisation and New Zealand Rugby will make a lie of that.

“What we have is a situation with a lot of moving parts,” Nichol said. “A lot of the modelling done to date was based on the assumption we’d have no rugby so this is a rapidly changing space.”

Nichol said the aim was still to have fully stocked Mitre 10 and Farah Palmer Cup competitions, “but how the revenue flows through to the provincial unions is the key”.

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“The player payments at provincial level are part of the equation. The players have to play a part in the [recovery] and we know this, but there are other things we need to understand too.

“There’s the Government wage subsidy to consider. There’s also the rescue package announced this week for sport. Is this relevant in this space? At this stage we don’t have a clue how that money is to be distributed but there’s a chance it could ease the pressure on the unions.”

The ongoing standoff comes after NZ Rugby cut provincial unions’ annual grants of $650,000 by 15 per cent and at a time when all unions are making redundancies to ensure their survival.

Nichol is arguing that provincial wages will be cut by 30 per cent when the government provided wage subsidy is factored in. Those at-risk provincial unions say that is not enough to get them over the line, and are instead demanding a 30 per cent cut on top of the wage subsidy.

“We’re doing everything we can to take the pressure off the provincial unions’ wage bill,” Nichol said. “But at the same time we’re looking at how much the players can be cut. NZR has to look at the way it distributes its revenue and the provincial unions have to look at what they’re doing.”

Nichol said many PUs had already “significantly” mitigated their contracting behaviour by signing fewer players.

Last month the Players’ Association and NZ Rugby agreed a 50 per cent freeze on forecasted player payments for the last eight months of this year which covers Super Rugby and All Blacks players.

Provincial union contracts sit outside the player payment pool and must, therefore, be separately negotiated. This year, across the unions, there is about $15 million worth of contracts due to be honoured.

In many ways the provincial union standoff has further underlined New Zealand Rugby’s deeply flawed player payment model, with the 14 unions operating under a $1.2 million salary cap contributing to the unsustainable future of the game here.

While the Mitre 10 Cup does not start for four months the wage cut agreement is a matter of urgency as some provincial unions are paying players now and honouring contracts as they stand.

The worst-case scenario could see some provincial unions walk away from negotiations and go to the players individually.

“Very soon we need certainty,” van Tilborg said. “With Covid we’ve been planning a number of different scenarios but we’ve got to the stage where everything is out of our control so we can’t plan or implement and that’s the difficulty.

“Unless we can get through this season in reasonable condition we’re better off considering the offer from New Zealand Rugby to pull out of the provincial competition to preserve our ability to compete 2021 and beyond.”

Van Tilborg said he’d had a personal assurance from NZR chairman Brent Impey that Harbour would not be penalised for pulling out of this year’s competition.

“We need the RPA to recognise that even their players understand getting through 2020 is the key here so we have a future beyond that. There’s no point in bankrupting unions this year… and leaving them in a vulnerable position for 2021 and beyond,” van Tilborg continued.

Cuts are being looked at elsewhere, with the prospect of teams flying in and out on match days raised – as Super Rugby teams will do – which allows for savings on accommodation.

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Trevor 2 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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Bull Shark 6 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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