19 years on from Wallabies heroics, players look to Harrison for another big play

The man in charge of the Rugby Union Players Association in the game's first genuinely existential crisis is Justin Harrison.

Harrison is the towering noughties-era Wallabies second-rower best known for being called a "plod", a "plank" and an "ape" by England back Austin Healey during the 2001 British and Irish Lions series.

Glory days: Justin Harrison, right, with Matt Cockbain, celebrates a momentous win on debut for Australia. Credit: Matthew Impey

He played 34 Tests, debuting in the decider of of that series, having read Healey's summation of his talents that morning.

In the 78th minute of the match that night, with the Wallabies ahead 29-23 but facing a Lions lineout 10 metres from the Australian line, Harrison corralled his hooker Michael Foley and prop, Rod Moore, into lifting him for a snaffle. It came off, the Wallabies wooden "ape" stealing Keith Wood's throw to Martin Johnson and delivering it to Andrew Walker to pitch it down field.

It is a moment worth mentioning now, in the midst of rugby's coronavirus-triggered crisis, because the quality of the game's leadership matters more than ever. Harrison, who took a cruel jibe and turned it into a series-winning play 19 years ago, is facing a stern test.

Not a stand-off, mind you. Broadcaster Tracey Holmes made the mistake of characterising as such RUPA's pay cut beef with Rugby Australia on ABC Radio on Tuesday night. Harrison was quick to set Holmes straight.

"A stand-off would presume there'd been propositions and ultimatums and something of a negotiation process entered into," he said. "That has never been contemplated as yet. We've never intimated that we weren't willing to participate in something that encompassed a solution. We've merely requested the information required to arrive at a solution."

What's going on here?

Harrison grabs the key ball from the Lions Martin Johnson in 2001 to clinch the series. Credit: REUTERS/Mark Baker

RA announced on Tuesday the standing down for three months of three-quarters of its non-executive level workforce. Castle is taking a 50 per cent pay cut and her 15-strong executive team are taking 30 per cent reductions for the period.

Despite the decisive and brutal action, Castle still has 40 per cent of RA's cost base on full pay. The players.

Like every other professional sport around the world, rugby players know they are in for significant pay cuts. Very significant. Which is why, Harrison says, RUPA three weeks ago began asking to meet with Castle and for RA to open its books.

RA has refused. Castle and Harrison met virtually on Tuesday, with former Wallabies and RA board members Brett Robinson (outgoing), Phil Waugh and Daniel Herbert joining the link up. They spoke for more than hour, with no resolution. RA invited RUPA to re-submit their questions but gave no undertaking they would provide any answers.

The arguments both ways appear to be thus:

• As a key stakeholder in the game, RUPA believes it is entitled to full disclosure on the health of the business, as outlined in the unaudited and unpublished 2019 financial report, before it can calculate a reasonable pay cut solution on behalf of its 192 members. It also wants cash flow and trading activity of the first quarter and some cash flow forecasting for coming months.
• As the governing body, and the players' employers, RA says it is under no obligation to provide all of the detail RUPA is seeking. It gave all its members a full update on the 2019 financials at Monday's annual general meeting and, in Tuesday's meeting, told RUPA verbally what its cash position would be at the end of June if the players took no cuts. Broadly, RA's position is that RUPA, as a member, is not entitled to anything more.

RA may be right. Perhaps the players aren't entitled to the special treatment - in the form of increased transparency - they're asking for. But Castle took two weeks to agonise over every cost line in the business before making her decision on the shape and depth of cuts she announced Tuesday, so it seems reasonable for RUPA to feel it needs to have the same information before it signs the players up to their own cuts.

At the end of the day, Harrison knows RUPA has no choice but to agree to whatever RA proposes. It is that or send the game broke, which would not serve the players and is not what they want.

In holding out for the detail - however reasonable his request - Harrison risks making the players look selfish or self-interested. You get the feeling Castle knows that. Harrison will have to make smart strategic calls over coming days to ward off a public backlash. His instincts served Australia well in 2001. Are they still as sharp?

On the other side, Castle's approach to the process has already damaged her standing among the players. If the game emerges in 2021, the RA chief executive looks to have made a powerful collective enemy.