6 May 2020
11
www.thevillagenews.co.za
MY SPORT
The highest paid World Rugby players By Tony O'Hagan
T
he perception that, in order to maintain the sporting spirit of the game, rugby had to be played by amateurs, endured for over a century. Although professionalism was already creeping into the game by the 1980s, it was not until 1995, fired by the success of that year’s World Cup, that media moguls started throwing serious money at the sport and the IRB declared Rugby Union professional. Handré The 1995 World Cup Pollard – and especially when PHOTO: AP South Africa's first black president, Nelson Mandela handed the victorious white South African captain, Francois Pienaar the trophy – is widely regarded as the moment when the world really fell in love with Rugby Union.
Today, Springbok fly-half, Handré Pollard and former All Black fullback, Charles Piutau are the highest paid rugby players. Both are earning £1million (± R23million) per annum, excluding endorsements and bonuses. The suspension of competitions due to COVID-19 will obviously affect the bonus portion of their total earnings. The world’s top earners, with annual salary in brackets, are: 1. Handré Pollard (£1million) was a star performer for the Springboks in the recent World Cup triumph in Japan. He has made 48 appearances for the green and gold and was the leading point scorer at the event. The 26-year-old pivot was born in Somerset West and matriculated at Paarl Gymnasium, which has been a conveyor belt in rolling out Springbok rugby players. Pollard has signed a contract with Top 14 French club, Montpellier. 2. Charles Piutau (£1million), who was born in Tonga, played for the Auckland Blues and made
17 appearances for the All Blacks before signing a contract with English club, Wasps. He then appeared for Ulster in Ireland before being lured by Bristol Bears in England, his current club. 3. Eben Etzebeth (£830 000), under contract with Top14 French club, Toulon is third on the salaries list. Via his performances at the World Cup, Etzebeth has appeared in 85 tests for South Africa, 11 as Cap-
tain. This 28-year-old lock forward is a giant in stature (6’8”). He matriculated at Tygerberg High School and played a leading role for both Western Province and the Stormers. 4. Maro Itoje (£820 000) was born in England to Nigerian parents. Itoje plays at lock forward for England and leading English club, Saracens. He represented the British and Irish Lions on the tour to New Zealand in 2017. 5. Owen Farrell (£750 000), England Rugby Union captain, plays for Saracens club in England and was a member of the British and Irish Lions in New Zealand. He plays at fly-half and centre. He comes from a family steeped in rugby. His father, Andy Farrell, played rugby league and rugby union for England, was assistant coach for England and the British Lions, and is currently Head Coach of the Irish team. 6. Steven Luatua (£650 000) played 15 tests at lock or flank for the All Blacks. He is contracted to Bristol Bears in England. 7. Dan Biggar (£600 000) is the Welsh fly-half and has played 83 tests for his country. He plays in the Premiership for English club, Northampton Saints. 8. Nicolas Sanchez (£580 000) is the Argentine star fly-half with 77 international caps. He has represented a number of French clubs, first Bordeaux, then Toulon and now Stade Francais. 9. Morgan Parra (£580 000) is a scrum-half who
has made 71 appearances for France. He has also played at fly-half on occasion and is a key player for French club, Clermont. 10. Michael Hooper (£575 000) is the inspirational Australian captain and the only player in the top 10 not playing in the English or French club competitions. He captains the Sydney-based team, the Waratahs. Faf de Klerk is the third South African on the top 20 salary list, coming in at No.15, with an annual pay package of £500 000 (± R12million). This “pocket rocket” Springbok scrum-half plays in the English Premiership for Sale Sharks, a Manchester-based club. Fly-halves dominate the top salaries with eight number 10s in the top 20. These include the four listed above, plus Johnny Sexton Eben Etzebeth PHOTO: BBC
Springbok players, Handré Pollard and Eben Etzebeth are two of the highest paid rugby players in the world.
Leinster (12th), Finn Russell - Racing 92 (13th), Beauden Barrett - Auckland (14th) and Paddy Jackson - London Irish (19th). Pollard earns almost double the salaries of Barrett and Sexton, both ex-World Rugby Players of the Year and each earning in the region of £530 000 per annum. Perhaps remaining and playing in their home countries may explain this discrepancy between their salaries and the higher pay on offer at French clubs. Rugby Union entered the professional era in 1995 and is therefore still young when compared to other sporting disciplines such as soccer, golf, tennis, boxing and Formula 1. Add to this the traditional American sporting codes and the rugby players’ salaries above pale in comparison. However, rugby players in the not too distant past would have given their eyeteeth for this kind of money!
