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Rugby Australia boss Phil Waugh says he is not interested in recruiting any more high-priced rugby league players, and signalled the game won’t be cutting Joseph Suaalii-sized cheques for its own off-contract stars either.
After a year of rugby openly expressing interest in poaching NRL players, which has prompted the NRL to consider salary cap exemptions for raids on rugby, the 15-man game appears to have taken a sharp U-turn.
Waugh, who played for Australia with NRL converts Lote Tuqiri, Wendell Sailor and Mat Rogers, was on the RA board that approved the $1.5m-a-year contract of Suaalii for 2025-27 but has said repeatedly since becoming chief executive in June that Australian rugby is facing significant financial challenges.
After announcing the first step of a national high-performance alignment on Tuesday, Waugh said his focus as chief executive will now be investing in pathways for rugby’s best young talent, instead of league players.
Asked if the days of throwing money at league players is gone, Waugh said: “Yep.”
“I just don’t think we need to,” Waugh continued.
“An absolute priority of mine is the pathways and which is my point around I don’t care if people are playing in league and AFL and other sports [as juniors], as long as they’re also experiencing rugby.
“And then we’ve actually got a really clear pathway for those 15-, 16-, 17-year-olds to become Wallabies or Super Rugby players, sooner than what they have historically. I think we’ve seen that with Max [Jorgensen] coming straight out of school into the Waratahs, you know, that’s sort of the journey that we’d like those top athletes to have.”
Eighteen-year-old Jorgensen, who debuted for NSW this year and was only denied a Wallabies debut by injury, is one of several young guns at the centre of a new skirmish between rugby and rugby league.
After Rugby Australia crowed about signing Suaalii from the Roosters in March, the Bondi club could potentially exact revenge by poaching rising Wallabies star Mark Nawaqanitawase. The Waratahs winger met with Roosters coach Trent Robinson this week for a coffee to discuss a potential code-switch in 2025.
The Roosters are also keen to recruit Jorgensen, after unsuccessfully trying to sign him at school.
Changes to the NRL salary cap rules, which would give clubs exemptions for signing players from rugby, would help their cause.
Asked about Nawaqanitawase and the threat of NRL raids, Waugh said his goal was to get Rugby Australia’s house back in order after a turbulent few years, and give players confidence they’re spending their career in a stable and successful sport.
“I don’t think we need to respond to speculation,” Waugh said. “We certainly have a job to do in terms of actually getting our game in order, to attract the best possible athletes.
“I do genuinely think that the international component of our game is compelling, when you compare it rugby league and to AFL. But what we need to do is actually provide security to our players that they trust the administration in the direction we’re taking the game.”
The inevitable consequence of signing Suaalii on a huge salary – which RA chairman Hamish McLennan labelled “reassuringly expensive” – is that representatives for rugby players like Nawaqanitawase and Jorgensen will push RA for an equitable pay packet.
Waugh signalled Rugby Australia would not be playing ball, however.
“I keep talking about being fiscally responsible because you know, I think the game historically has spent more than we can afford,” Waugh said.
“And this is why I come back to what’s the environment that we’re creating to attract players. So it’s not just all about money. You don’t want to be attracting people just because of the money, and then you don’t have the environment sorted out.
“We can’t ignore the fact that we’ve got athletes, not just rugby league targeting them, but you’ll have overseas clubs that will target them as well from a rugby perspective.
“We need to ensure that we’re creating an environment that people want to be here, and we’re filling stadiums and it’s a real buzz around the game that we’ve experienced previously. But we’re certainly not there right now.”
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After a year of rugby openly expressing interest in poaching NRL players, which has prompted the NRL to consider salary cap exemptions for raids on rugby, the 15-man game appears to have taken a sharp U-turn.
Waugh, who played for Australia with NRL converts Lote Tuqiri, Wendell Sailor and Mat Rogers, was on the RA board that approved the $1.5m-a-year contract of Suaalii for 2025-27 but has said repeatedly since becoming chief executive in June that Australian rugby is facing significant financial challenges.
After announcing the first step of a national high-performance alignment on Tuesday, Waugh said his focus as chief executive will now be investing in pathways for rugby’s best young talent, instead of league players.
Asked if the days of throwing money at league players is gone, Waugh said: “Yep.”
“I just don’t think we need to,” Waugh continued.
“An absolute priority of mine is the pathways and which is my point around I don’t care if people are playing in league and AFL and other sports [as juniors], as long as they’re also experiencing rugby.
“And then we’ve actually got a really clear pathway for those 15-, 16-, 17-year-olds to become Wallabies or Super Rugby players, sooner than what they have historically. I think we’ve seen that with Max [Jorgensen] coming straight out of school into the Waratahs, you know, that’s sort of the journey that we’d like those top athletes to have.”
Eighteen-year-old Jorgensen, who debuted for NSW this year and was only denied a Wallabies debut by injury, is one of several young guns at the centre of a new skirmish between rugby and rugby league.
After Rugby Australia crowed about signing Suaalii from the Roosters in March, the Bondi club could potentially exact revenge by poaching rising Wallabies star Mark Nawaqanitawase. The Waratahs winger met with Roosters coach Trent Robinson this week for a coffee to discuss a potential code-switch in 2025.
The Roosters are also keen to recruit Jorgensen, after unsuccessfully trying to sign him at school.
Changes to the NRL salary cap rules, which would give clubs exemptions for signing players from rugby, would help their cause.
Asked about Nawaqanitawase and the threat of NRL raids, Waugh said his goal was to get Rugby Australia’s house back in order after a turbulent few years, and give players confidence they’re spending their career in a stable and successful sport.
“I don’t think we need to respond to speculation,” Waugh said. “We certainly have a job to do in terms of actually getting our game in order, to attract the best possible athletes.
“I do genuinely think that the international component of our game is compelling, when you compare it rugby league and to AFL. But what we need to do is actually provide security to our players that they trust the administration in the direction we’re taking the game.”
The inevitable consequence of signing Suaalii on a huge salary – which RA chairman Hamish McLennan labelled “reassuringly expensive” – is that representatives for rugby players like Nawaqanitawase and Jorgensen will push RA for an equitable pay packet.
Waugh signalled Rugby Australia would not be playing ball, however.
“I keep talking about being fiscally responsible because you know, I think the game historically has spent more than we can afford,” Waugh said.
“And this is why I come back to what’s the environment that we’re creating to attract players. So it’s not just all about money. You don’t want to be attracting people just because of the money, and then you don’t have the environment sorted out.
“We can’t ignore the fact that we’ve got athletes, not just rugby league targeting them, but you’ll have overseas clubs that will target them as well from a rugby perspective.
“We need to ensure that we’re creating an environment that people want to be here, and we’re filling stadiums and it’s a real buzz around the game that we’ve experienced previously. But we’re certainly not there right now.”
Waugh and peace: RA boss not interested in poaching any more NRL stars
As the NRL considers raids on rugby stars, Phil Waugh says the 15-man game won’t be cutting any more Joseph Suaalii-sized cheques.
