You know things are really bad when the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) sends out spam email heralding the 'ultimate wallabies sale' with Wallaby kit going at Chinese factory wholesale prices.
That's exactly what the ARU did last week, and it's an apt metaphor for the current state of Australian rugby – almost broke, utterly dishevelled and on the brink of irrelevance as far as the domestic market is concerned.
The tone of recent talks between the ARU and players' union is worrying, with the Rugby Union Players Association (Rupa) boss Greg Harris so far not ruling out a cut in match payments. In fact, there are unconfirmed reports a new collective bargaining agreement could altogether end players earning match payments of $14,000 a Test, win, lose or draw. If that's true, let's hope the new agreement has an appropriate trade-off, for example higher base retainers for ARU top-up selected players, or some kind of claw-back mechanism for match payments when the ARU is on firmer financial footing.
These are dangerous days for both the ARU and players' union with a lot of bile floating around about players being paid over the odds. That's absolute rubbish. Sure, the Wallabies have done themselves few favours with shambolic efforts on the field – but the fact remains that there is no conclusive link between rugby team performance and pay. What we have instead is a massive swell of Moneyball-inspired public opinion and commentary, some of it sadly led by former Wallabies, against player wages. It's dangerous because people who should know better are actually buying into it.
The players, especially, need to be on red alert and ensure Rupa does its bidding on this crucial issue. However, Rupa's recent placating statements suggests it could roll over. That would be a massive miscalculation on its part, one raising serious doubts about Rupa's effectiveness as a voice for professional players. Alas, if only the players had Khoder Nasser in their corner right now.
Management slashing employee wages is not the cure-all that it's made out to be, and certainly not in rugby where player value is essentially determined by global forces. Too often employees get the blame when the real issue is the quality of management decision-making. The ARU boss Bill Pulver – a multi-millionaire thanks to shares in NetRatings which sold for $820m in 2007 – has gone on record saying he's spent the last six months "ripping costs out of the place". He called it a "cleansing experience".
It might sound counter-intuitive and controversial, but there's something to be said about spending your way out of a tough time. By all means, Bill, cut the fat from the administration where you can – but don't rule out spending a dollar to make a dollar. It's a point often lost on unimaginative CEOs who default to convenient cost controls when given charge of a struggling outfit. You don't need a Harvard MBA to not spend money, but spending to actually make money – now that's some real CEO skill.
This is a time for cool heads and considered opinions, and it means not pandering to the well-meaning but without facts mob on the 'slash player wages until they start winning' bandwagon. Under no circumstances should players accept a pay cut without a clearly defined timeframe in which they can claw-back their losses. If anything, instead of cutting match payments the ARU should consider attaching massive incentive bonuses for wins. If the ARU is fair dinkum about its claim recent performances are hurting the bottom line, then quantify that amount and make it a bonus payable for actually winning Tests.
Cutting player wages and hard-won entitlements since the game went professional in 1996 will simply result in a massive player exodus overseas. And it will only entrench the existing culture of under-performance for those too silly or not good enough to flee. Instead of hedging against losses, the ARU needs to be spending to incentivise winning. Traditionalists will say the Wallaby jersey will outweigh money. Well, that may have been true back in the day of regular wins against the All Blacks and packed stadiums, but not these days when beating Scotland is a challenge and the gold jersey is being flogged online for peanuts.
Oh yes, lest we forget, the Wallabies are playing something resembling rugby this weekend. It's against the All Blacks again, only this time in Dunedin, the third and final instalment of the 2013 Bledisloe Cup series. The Wallabies' wretched run against the ABs will turn one day, but not this Saturday. The 2013 ABs are a special bunch, probably one of the most accurate ever. Indeed, history will be very kind to them. Putting aside the result, it's worth keeping an eye on the Wallabies debutant, Peter Betham. The NZ-born flyer is a class act and should have been picked well before now. Finally, he gets his chance due to injury.
