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Rugby Australia respond to WAGs send-off scandal after Wallaroos uproar
By AAP
Rugby Australia have admitted they have a “way to go” to improve conditions for the Wallaroos and have pledged to keep players involved in their plans.
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Australia’s 15-a-side women’s rugby team presented a united front on Sunday in taking to social media with a statement lashing the sport’s governing body.
They claimed there were inequities between the investment and resources in the women’s and men’s national programs and said their team had been lied to.
A spokesman for RA responded to the Wallaroos, saying the governing body was “taking steps” to invest in the women’s game, with Australia hosting the women’s World Cup in 2029.
“Rugby Australia will continue to involve the Wallaroos playing group, through RUPA (Rugby Union Players Association), in all planning and developments regarding investment in Women’s Rugby,” the RA statement said on Monday.
“We are taking steps towards a fully professional future for the Wallaroos and investing more broadly in women’s rugby across national and community competitions – and we know we have a way to go.
“In line with RA’s commitment to incorporate players on this journey, RA will continue to meet with the elected Super W representatives from each Super W team, the RUPA Women’s Player Director, and the Wallaroos leadership group to listen and work together, to support our female athletes and their coaching and support teams.”
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Among the complaints from the the Wallaroos, the players said RA told them there was no money for full-time playing contracts at the time they were recruiting league star Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii on a multi-million dollar deal.
The women said they were still waiting for their school teacher coach Jay Tregonning to be made full-time, while Wallabies coach Eddie Jones had six assistants at next month’s World Cup.
The women criticised travel arrangements, saying they recently flew economy to Canada for two matches while their male counterparts enjoyed business class on their long-haul flights.
The Wallaroos were also angered by the World Cup “send-off” for the men’s team, who flew out to France last week.
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The collective social media statement was believed to be prompted by a TikTok video that showed partners of the male players being flown to farewell them in Sydney.
Wallaroos star Georgie Friedrichs commented on the RA post: “Rugby Australia … @wallabies WAGs getting more funding than the Wallaroos team.”
The funding of women’s rugby in Australia is significantly lower than leading nations such as New Zealand and England, whose top players are fully professional.
The Wallaroos made the quarter-finals of the Women’s Rugby World Cup last year in New Zealand and have qualified as one of the world’s top six teams for the new WXV1 competition in October.
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I think George Ford will be England’s flyhalf at the start of the 6 Nations but surely a match against Italy is an opportunity for Borthwick to let the shackles free and thus give Marcus Smith the keys to the England team or the backline at least. As for Sam Burgess, blaming rugby union or rugby yawnion as many league types in Australia call the 15 a side version of rugby is an easy way of garnering sympathy for a union stint that didn’t work out. Sure playing #6 for Bath and #12 for England wasn’t ideal for him but Burgess would have been better off moving to Bath when his South Sydney commitments were finished at the end of the 2013 season. That way, he’d have a large chunk of the 2013-14 season to get to grips with rugby and the entire 2014-15 season before the 2015 World Cup.
Go to commentsI think the article fails to understand the different dynamics between the countries. South African players leave the country because they can earn more in any of the major European leagues, and SARU doesn’t have the money or control to stop them. The situation is different in England. When English Qualified Players stop playing in England, they tend to go to France. Some older ones go to the US or Japan for a final payday in a less demanding competition, but the ones who are looking to maximise their earning power go to France, because it’s the only market in the game that pays more. The Top 14 is one of the most physically attritional leagues around, with a heavy emphasis on forward power and a very long league season. Players are hired to play, and contracts don’t usually include clauses allowing players to join up for International camps outside the International windows, or to have the RFU have a say over their training. The one famous exception was Jonny Wilkinson, but few other players have his buying power. I do think the RFU should be more flexible about players displaced by the club failures last year, and even for Joe Marchant, who moved because Eddie wasn’t selecting him only for Eddie to be replaced… But it needs to be a temporary measure while things settle down. I would place more of a focus on the RFU’s planned hybrid contracts, which will allow them longer term control over a core group of players. I also think they should look how to help develop emerging players who could fill problem positions or holes in the succession plan. Investment in the academies, and perhaps (cheaper) hybrid contracts for high potential players in positions where the succession plan is weaker would help.
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