Wales’ game against England is going ahead on Saturday, after Welsh players decided against striking from the WRU amid contact disputes.
The players had threatened to strike their big game, with belief that it was the only way they could get their views across.
Captain Ken Owens spoke about the contract situation yesterday to Wales Online: “Going forward we’ll have a hybrid model where there’ll be the fixed and variable, but there will also be a solely fixed model and the agent, the player and the region can choose which one they want to have discussions about.”
He also stated he is glad at a reduction to the number of caps needed to play outside of Wales: “With regard to the 60 cap rule, that rule is still there, but the number of caps has been reduced to 25. We’re obviously happy but there’s obviously been huge frustration over the last number of months.”
The rule in question previously stated that any player who had under 60 caps had to play in Wales to be eligible to play for their country.
This only differs when a player first plays for Wales, where they can play outside until the end of their current contract.
The main example for this is Louis Rees-Zammit whose contract at Gloucester runs for a few more years and so he would have time to gain 60 caps before his contract expires.
Players want to play outside of Wales currently because the money is not in the Welsh regions, with the Premiership, Japan and France’s Top 14 offering big paydays for the elite players.
The only player already playing outside of Wales with 60 caps is Dan Biggar, with most of their more experienced players playing for the regions.
But a few of the younger players, such as Will Rowlands and Tommy Reffell, are playing outside Wales and could still be affected even with it going down to 25 caps.
However, all players will be available for selection this weekend against their old rival, with Wales looking to get their first win of a poor Six Nations so far.
The loss at home to Ireland was backed up by a dismal 35-7 drubbing by Scotland, with Warren Gatland seeming to have little effect on the players with a World Cup around the corner.
England also lost to Scotland but beat Italy comfortably in their last game giving Steve Borthwick his first win.
If there is any game Wales will be up for, even under normal circumstances, it’s England, but with the added pressures faced by the players, the fans will be hoping they can get themselves off the root of the table with a big win over their noisy neighbours.
