Rugby Six Nations, Wales players threaten to go on strike for the match against England if they can’t get contracts suited to their role as professionals engaged at an international level. And there are very few days to find an agreement because the match is scheduled for the third round of the tournament on February 25th. It goes without saying that Cardiff’s Principality Stadium is sold out: 72,498 seats (sold in practice for a year) plus the two reserved for Prince William, Prince of Wales, patron saint of Welsh rugby, and his wife, Princess Kate Middleton, who she will not be at the stadium as the wife of the future king of England, but as the new godmother of the English federation on the decision of the late Queen Elizabeth who ousted Prince Harry from this position. It will be the first time that William and Kate have watched a Six Nations match as rivals.
But the news of the strike is so sensational that it is hard to write it or rather it is already incredible that it is talked about in a world – rugby at 15 – which until a few years ago (28, the time of a generation) rejected professionalism fearing it like the devil. And then we’re in Wales, the most oval country in the world after New Zealand. And we are also in the Six Nations, a single tournament, a private club, not a federation, which in the past two years alone has sold a seventh of its shares (14.3%) to the CVC equity fund for over 500 million euros.
More: the Tournament of 4 (England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, a unique entity in rugby) and then 5 (France) and then 6 (Italy, since 2000) Nations was born in 1883 and in fact only saw matches canceled for the two world wars and (just one year) the Northern Irish Troubles. Bluetongue outbreaks and even the Covid pandemic have caused postponements, but not match cancellations. And let alone if the word “strike” had ever been mentioned: a heresy, that word sounds like a heresy.
For the Welsh Union it is a truly alarming period: the CEO Steve Phillips resigned in recent days after an investigation by the BBC Wales revealed heavy misogynistic, bullying and discriminatory behavior among its employees. A situation that has prompted the federation to even ban singing in the stadium (as had been the case for half a century) the song Delilah, a hit by Wales star Tom Jones and the unofficial anthem of the Dragons. Then the unusual early dismissal of New Zealand coach Wayne Pivac due to poor results in 2022 with the post entrusted to Warren Gatland, also a Kiwi, with a very brilliant CV with the Dragons but who has so far lost 2 out of 2 matches.
And now the “contracts” case: as reported by the site of the monthly “AllRugby”, the players are threatening to go on strike because their contracts are about to expire in a scenario that could lead to fears of sharp wage cuts and even cuts by the four franchises (Dragons, Ospreys, Scarlets and Cardiff) that feed the national team. The higher contracts could shrink from £400,000 to £270,000 and the lower ones end up in a range of £30,000 to £100,000. Welsh media have also reported on a star of the international who has ended up in treatment for depression with prescription drugs because “he doesn’t know if he will be able to pay the mortgage for the house, bills and studies for his children”. The four franchises are in trouble: they will have to cut the “rosters” and reduce salaries because they can’t repay the 5 million pound loan obtained by each of them through the Welsh Union: public money allocated by the British government to deal with the period of the Covid pandemic.
But aren’t Wales a rugby powerhouse? Yes it is, he even won the Six Nations in 2021 and shares the most wins of the Tournament (39) with England. Quite simply: Wales is synonymous with rugby. Point. But managing a movement with 4 pro teams plus the national team isn’t easy if you remember that the Principality has only 3 million inhabitants.
“It’s not possible to live in uncertainty – say the players now called upon to play a very high number of very tough matches every year – We don’t know if we’ll be paid enough or if we’ll be cut. And also in September there will be the World Cup, as Can we get there properly prepared?”
A climate that is reflected in the defeats of the Dragons who took them soundly from Ireland and Scotland in the first two rounds and who are expected on 11 March at the Olimpico from Italy who hopes to repeat the success, then truly unexpected, of 2022.
The leaders of the Union hope that an agreement will be reached by the end of the month, but in the meantime February 25 is approaching and the most awaited match ever, the one against the arch-rivals England.
