RUPA President Damien Fitzpatrick walks away from job
He may not have worn the Wallabies gold jersey, but one of Australian rugby’s most important figures has made an emotional farewell to the game.
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He may not have worn the Wallabies gold jersey, but one of Australian rugby’s most important figures in the game, Damien Fitzpatrick, has retired.
Fitzpatrick’s decision to call time on his career will see him relinquish his important role as the Rugby Union Players’ Association President.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal that veteran Waratahs hooker shed tears on Thursday as he informed teammates and staff members that he had opted to hang up the boots after more than a decade in the game.
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But whilst he played his last game against the Brumbies during the Waratahs’ humbling 47-14 defeat in the nation’s capital on March 15 as COVID-19 forced the suspension of Super Rugby, Fitzpatrick’s finest touch in rugby could still yet come.
Having already worked day and night along with RUPA CEO Justin Harrison for more than a month to nut out an agreement with Rugby Australia to see the playing group take a 60 per cent pay cut as COVID-19 brought the game to its knees, the two parties will shortly return to the table.
RA’s celebrated deal with Fox Sports on Wednesday to broadcast Australia’s new-look Super Rugby format, along with Super Rugby Aotearoa in New Zealand which will recommence on Saturday, means the agreement will be looked at again over the coming month.
Generally speaking RUPA would be on the hunt for a new president to flesh out the deal, but given the importance and unprecedented nature of the COVID pandemic Fitzpatrick is planning to see it through to the end.
“There’s definitely an appetite to see this through and we’re working on a few things structurally to allow that to happen,” Fitzpatrick told The Daily Telegraph.
“There’s still some important conversations to have that I will be involved with, but naturally I will be stepping down as president and it’ll go through an election process to find a new one.”
Already the deal struck between RA and RUPA in April was Fitzpatrick’s “biggest” involvement in rugby.
“I’ve never dealt with a workload like we went through, it was very thorough,” Fitzpatrick said.
“We knew there was a lot on the line.
“When you’re talking about the payment restructure that we were talking about it was potentially life changing for a lot of players, so we needed to make sure that every corner of the window was checked – which is why the delay was there – but at the end of the day we got a deal that RUPA could endorse to our players as the best possible outcome.”
All but three of the 192 registered Australian players – Queensland Reds trio Izack Rodda, Isaac Lucas and Harry Hockings who are managed by Anthony Picone – opted to sign the deal, but were it not for RUPA’s efforts in securing an outcome it’s more than likely many more would have already left these shores.
It’s something that for Fitzpatrick was a major consideration during the month-long discussions with RA.
“Yeah, I think by definition (it was the difference between players leaving or staying),” he said.
“If there’s no money or things went really south, that was definitely a consideration.
“We knew there was a lot riding on it and that’s why it was so important to work together with Rugby Australia.
“We called it a restructure but if we didn’t get a solid outcome in that situation things could have ended in a really bad position, meaning that our younger generation of player might not have had the opportunity to play here in Australia like I had.”
But it’s not something Fitzpatrick looks back fondly on nor as an achievement.
“We were able to get a deal that we were comfortable with and as good a deal as we could get,” Fitzpatrick said.
“But I’m not going to sit here and say it was a great deal and people are happy. It was far from that. We’re talking about people losing their jobs and having to redirect their lives.”
While a deal has been struck to allow for rugby to once again resume, Fitzpatrick knows the job is far from done.
In the short-term Australia’s premier talent can now be paid with revenue starting to filter back into the game, but beyond the rejigged domestic competition rugby still faces an uncertain future.
RA must secure a deal with a broadcaster to showcase Test matches later this year and still no deal exists for 2021 and beyond.
Despite the “state of flux” that professional rugby currently finds itself in, Fitzpatrick remains optimistic that the game can thrive.
“I still think there’s room for growth here if we get the decisions right,” he said.
“I think where we need to get to is to find a competition that is financially viable that allows pathway systems for our young talent here in Australia.
“Those two key things are more important than anything.
“We find a competition that is financially viable and allows growth and success of the game to continue to allow bottom up growth and pathways to the elitist level of rugby.
“You read between the lines and that’s not the competition that we’ve currently got.”
Having turned 31 on Monday, Fitzpatrick could well and truly have continued to play on for another few years.
But having already spent more than three years playing in France for Lyon and Stade Francais, the respected hooker sensed the timing was right to bow out and allow the next generation of hookers to develop at the Waratahs as the rebuilding process continues.
New Wallabies attack coach Scott Wisemantel was in attendance on Thursday as Fitzpatrick told his teammates of what it meant to be a Waratah, while incumbent Test skipper Michael Hooper also paid tribute to his teammate.
“Hoops got up and said some really kind words, which was really nice coming from a close mate and one of the greatest Waratahs, if not the greatest Waratah by the time he’s finished, was touching from that perspective,” Fitzpatrick said.
“But to hear a really close friend talk about the attributes you’ve brought to a group and what the team thinks of you was touching.
“Then it kicked over to me and I had an opportunity to tell the guys just how much playing for the Waratahs meant to me and what the jersey has meant to me.
“It’s the biggest privilege in my life and second to marrying my wife, Jade, it’s a very close second in terms of the greatest privilege I’ve had is being a Waratah.”
Fitzpatrick added that he thought the Waratahs were on the right track particularly with NSW great Chris Whitaker starting to make his presence felt at the club as an assistant coach.
The departing hooker said he believed the Waratahs had lost its edge in recent years, but was confident that the club’s talent could be nurtured under the stewardship of Whitaker and Hooper.
“I think the future’s bright because I know we have the talent, we do definitely, if we can harness that with a new culture and a winning culture the sky is the limit.”