Report written by Toby Duncan, RUPA General Manager, Player Services & Operations

In recent years, Australian Rugby has experienced significant challenges. Many of which have been financial, and have therefore required the attention, collaboration and contribution of all the game’s stakeholders. Collectively the players have also risen to these challenging times. Led by the RUPA Board, it was the players, in the latest collective bargaining, who agreed to sacrifice personal short-term gains in the interests of the long-term health and security of the game of rugby in Australia. As a result, in the interests of players, RUPA has directed much of its focus to support the whole-of-game.

As Australian Rugby gets set to introduce SANZAR’s revised Super Rugby competition model, with it comes a new broadcast deal promising the game’s security for at least the next five years. Whilst RUPA continues its role in representing the interests of Australia’s professional rugby players, this new opportunity will allow us to look more closely at the services and support we provide players, and how their needs can be better addressed.

As Collective Bargaining negotiations begin to intensify, RUPA’s primary focus has now turned to how we can align the feedback and priorities of the playing group with the overall administration of the game through the support of RUPA’s unique programs and services.

On our recent roadshow, the second for the year, where we meet with each of the professional rugby teams across the country, we engaged in a new activity to increase our understanding of what is most important in Australian players’ lives and careers.

Players at each professional rugby team were split into five groups based on age, as a means of mapping the changing priorities over the course of a player’s career.

The Top Three Priorities

Following the roadshow, the top priorities of each professional team were compiled. From this, three main priorities emerged across the entire professional playing group. They are ‘Leave and Rest’, ‘Mental Health and Wellbeing’ and ‘Remuneration and Benefits’.

1. Leave and rest
Initial observations suggest that the growing commercialisation of the game, as it seeks to maximise broadcast deals and expand into new markets, is having effects on issues concerned with player welfare. This may explain why players emphasised, leave and rest amongst their top priorities.

In 2014 for example, the Super Rugby season commenced midway through February. The last Test match for the Wallabies took place at the end of Novermber. The NSW Waratahs played 18 games on their way to the Super Rugby Championship. The Wallabies played 15 Test Matches across eight countries.

In 2016 Super Rugby is entering the Japanese and Argentinian markets, with the addition of three extra teams.

As competition models and game time increases each year, this is certain to have effects on travel and in trying to retain top talent in what is already the most travelled “provincial” competition in the world. How do our players balance their family commitments when an ‘away’ road trip can last four weeks? How do our players keep their bodies and minds fresh during an 11 month season that can see the top players play 30 games per year?

2. Mental health and wellbeing
When 18 year olds transition straight from high school into a professional sporting environment, is the game ensuring that they are appropriately educated and equipped with tools to deal with the realities of professionalism? What coping strategies are players equipped with to deal with making a mistake in front of tens of thousands of people at a game, hundreds of thousands watching on TV and the millions who read newspapers? Or when going out with friends and their every move is watched by anyone with a camera phone?

It is widely-accepted, when players are happy off the field, they perform better on the field.

3. Remuneration and benefits
The third most identified item, ‘Remuneration and Benefits’, is a multi-faceted issue. For some players, this is a priority given their careers in professional sport are short-term and fragile. For the younger players, it is a priority as they don’t tend to, and may not ever, receive the amount of pay as some of the more high-profile players. Others may be taking into consideration the broadcast and sponsorship provisions and benefits players are entitled to share.

Further Insights

- From a financial perspective, ‘budgeting’ was universally the most important factor for players managing their own income and expenditure.
- Within the younger age groups, there was a clear focus on performance aspects, in particular ‘coaching and development’ and ‘career progression and selection’.
- The performance element remained important for the players who were a few years into their professional rugby careers. As they became more established within the squad, players emphasised work-life balance, including aspects such as family commitments and educational prospects. The financial focus of these groups shifted to ‘wealth management’, with players keen on managing their resources.
- Within the senior ranks of players, there was a trend in planning for life after rugby. ‘Professional development and mentoring’, ‘networking opportunities’ and ‘milestones and legacy’ were three of the key priority areas for this more established group. Financially, superannuation became more prominent and insurance gained greater priority for such groups.
- Across the senior playing groups, the importance of ‘milestones and legacy’ was universally acknowledged. This may be a reflection of their commitment and passion players have for the game and the sentimentality connected to their memories and experiences. The latter stages of a rugby players' career is when they tend to build a greater appreciation for things like the connections built within a team, their fans and friendships, as well as a growing desire to leave the team and the game in a better place than when they arrived. Hearing from players about these aspects of the game was extremely heartening and shows a strong mentality of acknowledging not what the game can do for them, but what can they do for the game.
- It was pleasing to see ‘Culture and Heritage’ acknowledged as a priority amongst players. This could be a reflection of the approximately 33% of players from Pasifika culture who make up the professional playing group.
- From a health and safety perspective, players acknowledged the importance of insurance, especially in regards to RUPA’s Career-Ending Insurance Policy,the first player-funded insurance policy in Australian professional sport. Players thought more proactively in this space, with many prioritising the need for ‘Health Checks and Screenings’ to identify and manage health issues early.

The Challenge Ahead

The next stage for RUPA is identifying measures that can appropriately address the three main identified priorities.

‘Leave and Rest’ can be addressed through the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) by continuing to work with the Rugby Bodies on player welfare from a high performance perspective to ensure a fair balance between rugby and time off.

‘Remuneration and Benefits’ can be similarly achieved through the CBA. RUPA will always seek to raise the minimums for our lower-tiered contracts, using other sports as reference points, as a means of attracting the best possible talent. Through their 29% share of Gross Player Revenue, the players’ remuneration is inextricably linked to the health and performance of the game.

‘Mental Health and Wellbeing’ is an interesting topic given it can mean very different things to each individual differently. How players define and seek to address issues around their mental health and wellbeing is something RUPA is committed in gaining better understanding. This will involve building on programs already established by RUPA to identify each player’s needs and, in response, providing the necessary resources and support.

In continuing to work collaboratively with both the professional playing group as a whole and the Rugby Bodies, RUPA will seek to implement the measures required to fulfil the leading priorities of players. In effect, we continue to strive to ensure such measures have visible beneficial impacts on and off the playing field to help individuals within the professional playing group become better people and better players who live better lives.