Browne unwilling to rule out further pay cuts for players

The possibility of further cuts in salaries across all IRFU staff, including the professional players, has not been ruled out by the Union's CEO Philip Browne should games continue to be played behind closed doors.

In July, the IRFU and Rugby Players Ireland (RPI) agreed a 10 per cent salary reduction and a 10 per cent salary deferral for six months until the end of the year.

The union had initially sought a 20 per cent pay cut, which the RPI rejected. The English players recently agreed a 25 per cent pay cut with the RFU for the 2020-21 season while last April the New Zealand union and the players agreed to a 50 per cent pay cut, although that was pending the resumption of any rugby.

“We are in constant dialogue with Rugby Players Ireland,” said Browne.

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“We said we would review the situation in December and the scenario then will depend how we view the cost structure around the professional game. Inevitably if there is a continuing difficulty we will have to pare back costs within the professional game and inevitably that means salaries.”

Nor, pending a review in December, could he rule out redundancies across their wider staff of around 270 people, in addition to 210 full-time and part-time players, who agreed to a four-day working week and 20 per cent salary cut.

With the cost of running the professional game amounting to €5 million per month, the estimated first tranche of €5.5 million from CVC’s purchase of a 28 per cent stake in the Pro14 has already been absorbed by the provinces.

Munster and Ulster are in greater difficulty than Connacht and Leinster, in part due to what Browne described as “legacy issues”, ie Munster’s Thomond Park debt and declining attendances there and in Ulster.

“Connacht have managed their resources very well and they have been running a tight ship, to be fair. Equally in Leinster, who have the added advantage of being in the capital city and [who have] managed to build up reserves over the years.”

No less than moving internationals away from Dublin, which Browne did not envisage, he did not rule out the possibility of private investment in the provinces.

Deferred payments

Fulfilling the two rearranged 2020 Six Nations games against Italy at home and France away, even without fans, is imperative for the Union as it would raise an estimated €4 million in deferred payments.

With three more home games scheduled in the Autumn Nations Cup, even observing the one-metre social distancing would permit an attendance of around 18,000.

While that would not solve their financial problems, Browne said it would “help enormously for a number of reasons. One is it means that we can fulfil our commercial obligations to sponsors and all the rest of it.

“The second is it allows us to put the premium seat holders into the stadium, thereby releasing the €32.5million which is currently on hold in terms of the latest issue of premium seats. So that obviously is an enormous help and it then leaves probably a balancing amount of in and around 6,000 tickets to sell so 6,000 tickets isn’t going to solve our problem but it goes a hell of a long way to getting things back on the straight and narrow.”

While Browne was pessimistic about that possibility he did strike one upbeat note.

“The IRFU is effectively trying to support the entire game here, the four provinces, the amateur game, and it is very tricky. But I’d be confident that we can get through it. There may be a little bit of pain along the way, but I think that we will get to the point where there’s a vaccine and things will turn.”