Izack Rodda, Harry Hockings, Isaac Luke granted release from contracts; Wallaby great let’s them have it
If Izack Rodda, Harry Hockings and Isaac Lucas thought their volatile week would finish on a quiet note, they were wrong with a former Wallaby great going for the jugular on Queensland’s rebel Reds trio.
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Wallabies great Tony Shaw has savaged Queensland’s rebel Reds trio for having “no faith or ambition” after they were allowed to walk out on their contracts.
Test lock Izack Rodda may now chase a deal in France while young lock Harry Hockings and utility back Isaac Lucas look set to bob up with Japanese clubs to ride out rugby’s rocky financial times.
The Queensland Rugby Union and Rugby Australia on Saturday released the trio from their contracts as disappointment, anger and bewilderment swirled around them pursuing contract terminations.
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Avoiding a messy court wrangle was part of the reason for the bombshell split just five days after RA director of rugby Scott Johnson had publicly hoped the players could be swayed into accepting their pay cuts to stay.
Shaw is a recent RA president and played 36 Tests during his blood-and-thunder reign in Queensland packs through the 1970s and early ‘80s.
“I’m shocked and extremely disappointed in all three wanting to leave the Reds and one (Rodda) is a former captain and Test lock,” Shaw said.
“Have they no ambition to play for the Wallabies or any faith in Australian rugby turning things around?
“Look about … people everywhere are in the same boat with some pain and I reckon the right thing was for these three guys with massive futures to hang in there.”
The pain will also be felt on the field when the domestic Super Rugby competition kicks off on July 3-4 because the Reds are suddenly minus two top locks in 25-Test trump Rodda and young leaper Hockings.
It creates a rails run for Reds lock Angus Blyth, a big 2.04m improver at just 22 who has the make-up to become a Wallaby.
Even if Rodda had harboured a desire to flip to the Brumbies, interim RA chief executive Rob Clarke shut that door firmly while a return to Australia is a frosty bridge to cross in the future.
“If they wish to go overseas then that’s their decision … there’s no avenue open to them in Australia at this time,” interim RA chief executive Rob Clarke said.
The public drama of the drawnout Israel Folau court case and payout would have jolted RA’s willingness to challenge the player contracts further.
“Going to court is always a brutal ending to any conflict so you always want to mediate along the way … they had their rights and we are very disappointed,” Clarke said of signing deeds of release late on Friday night.
“Given that 189 players around the country and 150 staff have all committed to sharing the pain of Covid across our great game, we thought this the most prudent course of action for the three not signing up to the plan.”
Clarke said he’d heard of “possible interest” in Japan for the Reds but was adamant the trio would not become the precedent for a rush of departures.
“I have had no indication from the Rugby Union Players’ Association or any other player that they are looking beyond these shores,” Clarke said.
“Other rugby economies are suffering too so people thinking about a golden pot will be sorely disappointed.”
Johnson was at a loss to explain why both Rodda and Lucas were leaving after signing four-year deals to stay at the Reds late last year.
“It is confusing to us so it’s a question to ask the players because they seemed happy when signing for an extended period,” Johnson said.
Player agent Anthony Picone had that answer for his three players: “This is their livelihood. It is only reasonable that talented players want to secure stable employment during these times.”
Rebel rugby trio drop massive contract bombshell
Wallaby Izack Rodda, Harry Hockings and Isaac Lucas have quit their contracts in Australia in a shock ploy that could hasten the collapse of the Giteau Law.
The trio on Friday took the drastic step to terminate their Queensland Reds and Rugby Australia deals, claiming the Queensland Rugby Union had no legal grounds for standing them down.
Just as surely, the QRU will have researched the legal grounds to do so on Monday because the trio not accepting pay cuts of up to 60 per cent had gone through private wrangling for 10 days.
The ugly stand-off has sent shockwaves through Australian rugby’s fragile landscape with their player agent Anthony Picone calling out the code’s “parlous” financial state as the root cause.
He said the prospect of contracts not being honoured to their full amount, beyond September 30 when the pay cut period expires, had forced players to make very difficult decisions.
“This is their livelihood. It is only reasonable that talented players want to secure stable employment during these times,” Picone said.
The players have not been at Reds training since Monday and have been removed from team meetings conducted online.
A legal notice on Friday advised the QRU of the players seeking termination based on “repudiatory conduct” for an unjustifiable course of action regarding contractual obligations.
“The QRU had no legal basis to issue the stand down notice (and) was given considerable opportunity to withdraw the notice,” read the blunt statement issued on behalf of the players.
The QRU and RA are framing their legal response but the situation has escalated way beyond “hopefully it gets resolved in a positive light and we get on with it.”
That was the ardent wish of RA director of rugby Scott Johnson on Monday, yet it now looks like an agent has found a way to sidestep contracts to get the uncapped Lucas and Hockings to Japanese clubs.
The future of 25-Test lock Rodda, who stands to lose more than $200,000 by accepting the pay cut, is more mysterious because of the whispers he wants to move to the Brumbies.
Picone urged new RA management to adopt “a more nuanced approach to player relationships and player movement” – a longwinded way of saying the Giteau Law should be abolished.
“The future is uncertain but we should always have as many players in the tent as possible,” Picone said of being able to pick players based anywhere, as the Socceroos do.
“South Africa have jumped the gun on us in this space and they won the World Cup with a unified squad selected from all around the world (without Australia’s 60-Test requirement to be selected from overseas).”
Lock Hockings and utility back Lucas, both 21, have not suddenly fallen out of love with the Reds or their Wallabies’ dream but must feel they can return to it after two years in Japan when Australian rugby is more stable.
Picone even had a warning: “It would be wise for the Reds and RA to maintain amicable relationships with these (three) players.”
It’s unclear where the termination ploy leaves Rodda’s supposed pitch to join the Brumbies because RA had agreed to him having a six-month playing stint abroad between 2021-23 to help make up for the pay cut he was supposed to take.
Former Wallaby Chris Feauai-Sautia, Hunter Paisami and Carter Gordon, three other Reds players managed by Picone’s NewStar Sports, have agreed to the temporary pay cuts.
“Izack Rodda, Harry Hockings and Isaac Lucas respect and support their teammates in their decisions and understand that each individual will assess the situation in relation to their own circumstance,” Picone said.
Mutiny twist: Rodda to defect to Super Rugby rival
The Brumbies have emerged as the likely new home for disgruntled Queensland and Wallaby lock Izack Rodda, writes Jamie Pandaram.
While Rodda, and Reds teammates Isaac Lucas and Harry Hockings are stood down without pay for refusing to accept Rugby Australia’s proposed 60 per cent wage cut, it has now emerged that Rodda is deeply unhappy with the Reds system and wants out of the club.
It had been speculated that the NSW Waratahs could be in play for Rodda, but News Corp can reveal he has already spoken to players at the Brumbies regarding a potential move to the nation’s capital.
Rodda was one of six players granted the option of a six-month sabbatical anytime from 2021-23 as part of the pay-cut deal negotiated by RUPA.
It’s believed Rodda is being eyed by Japanese Top League club NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes, who have just signed South African coach Johan Ackerman from Gloucester.
If RA and the Reds agree, Rodda would then move to the Brumbies, though no formal discussions have been had between the club and the player.
Rodda was overlooked for the Queensland captaincy by Brad Thorn earlier this year, with Liam Wright given the title.
It’s unclear if that decision alone has caused the friction between Rodda and the Reds, but the feeling now is that he will play no future games for the team.
The 25-Test Wallaby is contracted with the Reds and RA until the end of 2023, as is Lucas.
It’s unclear if Lucas wants to move to another franchise, or wants to take up an overseas offer.
Hockings is off contract so can negotiate a deal overseas.
The trio became the only professional footballers in the country not to accept pay cuts amid the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing the Reds to stand them down from training on Monday.
While the Waratahs could do with a lock of Rodda’s calibre, NSW coach Rob Penney is not interested in adding to an already tense situation by making a public pitch for the second-rower now.
“It’s a really unfortunate situation up there, the landscape's changing for everybody across all sports, so the last thing you'd want to be seen to be doing is being the vulture hanging around a situation like that,” Penney said.
“Let's just hope Brad and the group can have some solid resolution.
“Obviously they are very important to Australian rugby and let's hope that they can resolve the issues they've got.
“Certainly I wouldn't want any of those boys leaving the country and not being able to represent their country at some point so from our end we're going to hunt it down.”
Originally published as Izack Rodda, Harry Hockings, Isaac Luke granted release from contracts; Wallaby great let’s them have it
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