All Blacks head coach Ian Foster yesterday said that he would take a pay cut and players would follow suit as New Zealand Rugby cuts expenses while professional competitions are shuttered during the COVID-19 outbreak.
In a radio interview, Foster confirmed that he and other coaches had agreed to substantial pay cuts as long as New Zealand Rugby’s revenues are affected. He did not give a percentage figure.
“Our coaching group has definitely taken a big cut,” Foster told radio Newstalk ZB. “It’s already been agreed to.”
Photo: AP
“With rugby, when there’s no games there’s no revenue and that’s a tough thing,” Foster said. “There’s been a lot of shaving of the programs and what it’s also come down to is cutting salaries. That’s happened for some and happening for others.”
Foster said he had spoken to several All Blacks players who accept that their pay is to be cut and are prepared to make that sacrifice while the southern hemisphere Super Rugby tournament is suspended.
July Test matches in New Zealand and Australia are also in doubt.
“It’s a different sort of process for players, but I know that they’re willing to go into that space too,” he said. “As we go through the next few days, that will be finalized.”
“It’s a given, they understand that,” Foster added. “It’s just a matter of working it through so all the different levels of players are dealt with fairly. I haven’t had one player yet who doesn’t know it’s going to happen or doesn’t accept that it’s going to happen.”
Players and coaches in many professional sports around the world are taking pay cuts while leagues are suspended.
New Zealand rugby has been hard hit by the shutdown, Foster said. “It’s a dire state when you can’t play a game. We’re obviously in a high-cost, high-revenue industry and when the revenue dies, you’re left with high costs, so it’s a no-brainer. There’s going to be some pain.”
Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V’landys said that he expected to announce tomorrow a rescue package for clubs and players during the coranavirus crisis.
The National Rugby League is suspended indefinitely, putting clubs and the sport itself under extreme financial pressure.
“I will put a package to the commission on Monday morning and then hopefully make an announcement that afternoon that I think the players and the clubs will be happy with,” V’landys told the Sydney Morning Herald.
On Friday, Australian Rules football players in the Australian Football League agreed after lengthy negotiations to take pay cuts.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
RSS