Darry Worthington takes a look at the rugby news that has made the headlines over the past week.
While COVID-19 has put a hold to all rugby fixtures around the globe, there’s still a lot of rugby news doing the rounds at the moment. This week’s big stories include a possible exodus at the Bulls, Raelene Castle leaving the CEO’s seat in Australia, Hadre Pollard’s massive paycheck, and another player possibly leaving Saracens.
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Castle Final Falls!
So the Raelene Castle saga eventually came to a close last week with the long-suffering Australian Rugby CEO being sacked by the board. Her firing came just days after a group of former Wallaby captains penned a letter saying they were extremely worried at the state of Australian rugby under Castle’s stewardship.
It will be interesting to see the fallout from this even as there are still rumours that recently announced head coach Dave Rennie could quit the post without even having taken a training session.
Maitland on the Move
Scottish international and former Crusaders winger, Sean Maitland, could be the next international player to leave relegated Saracens. Maitland, while not the biggest earner, is still on a rather large salary and he could well follow Welsh star Liam Williams out the North London club’s doors.
This is probably a smart move on Saracens half as Maitland is getting long in the tooth and the club have some solid academy players capable of filling in on the wing.
Bulls Set to Bleed Players?
With SA Rugby making major financial cuts, unions are going to struggle to have to thin down their squads and salaries in order to remain afloat. This has already been taking place at the Bulls with the Loftus base franchise allowing centre Johnny Kotze to cancel his contract.
SARU last week announced that professional players would be allowed to break their contracts with their unions and seek other employment options up until mid-May.
Kotze is unlikely to be the last player to leave a union as sides around the country look to trim their wage bills.
Pollard Set for Massive Payday
Handre Pollard is set to become the richest man in co-highest paid rugby player in the world when the 20/21 season eventually gets underway.
The former Bulls man is set to earn a whopping 23.5 million Rand a year and will only be matched by Bristol Bears man Charles Piatau.
While this still isn’t anywhere near the money European footballers get paid, it’s still a hefty old sum.
