Darkest day rocks rugby HQ

Three in four Rugby Australia staff members have been stood down for three months as the game faces a crippling $120 million loss in 2020.

Rugby Australia chief executive Raelene Castle

Rugby’s darkest day came with a resounding thud, leaving most of its workers unemployed for the next three months as the game faces a crippling $120 million loss in revenue this year due to the COVID-19 crisis.

Around 140 staff at Rugby Australia were left in shock after chief executive Raelene Castle announced on Tuesday that 75 per cent of them would be stood down from April 1 until June 30.

Castle read a prepared five-minute statement to her employees, then directed them to speak to their individual managers regarding their temporary job losses. Many of their questions could not be answered.

Soon followed the culls at Australia’s four Super Rugby franchises; nearly all employees either stood down, or given drastically reduced hours and wages.

RA and the NSW Waratahs, Queensland Reds, Brumbies and Melbourne Rebels will be reliant on the federal government’s JobKeeper package, allowing employers to claim $1500 a fortnight for each employee for up to six months in a bid to buffer the economic fallout of the coronavirus.

But ongoing loss of revenue due to cancelled games has left some employees resigned to never returning to work in rugby.

RA also spoke to players’ union RUPA on Tuesday and will ask Australia’s 192 professional players to sacrifice a significant amount of their pay to keep the game alive.

Castle said if no Super Rugby or Test matches can be played this year, RA faces a “worst-case scenario” of $120 million in lost revenue. And there is no broadcast deal secured beyond this year.

“Our extensive modelling shows that, as a code, we could lose up to $120 million in revenue should it not be possible for any rugby to be played in 2020,” Castle said.

“Of course, that is the worst case scenario, and we are very hopeful that we can recommence the Super Rugby season and domestic Wallabies Test matches at some point this year.

“The measures we will implement from April 1, although extremely painful, are necessary to ensure the sport remains financially viable and to ensure that we are able to come out the other side of this global crisis, fully-operational and ready to throw everything into the rebuild. It is our priority to keep all of our valued team connected and engaged through this period.

“We shared with the Rugby Union Players Association today the breadth of our cost-cutting including the standing down of 75 per cent of our staff. We will work closely with RUPA to reach an agreement which is appropriate given this unprecedented situation.”

However, it’s clear RUPA is still frustrated by the lack of transparency from RA regarding the ­financial specifics.

“Australia’s professional rugby union players are still waiting on detailed financial information from Rugby Australia after talks in Sydney today, still not provided after three weeks of requests,” RUPA chief Justin Harrison said.

“Although RA provided no assurances, RUPA looks forward to the opportunity to assess that information in the near future.”

Castle has taken a 50 per cent salary reduction of her annual $840,000 wage, and her remaining 15-team executive staff across the game at least a 30 per cent salary reduction. All RA board ­directors have agreed to defer their directors fees.

The Daily Telegraph