Rugby Australia concedes it has work to do after being lashed by Wallaroos players over WAGs drama

Rugby Australia has admitted it has a “way to go” to improve conditions for the Wallaroos after being called out by players for inequities in investment between the women’s and men’s national programs amid claims they had been lied to.

Current national players took the unprecedented step of breaching their contracts by posting the statement across various social media channels calling for appropriate investment in the women’s game and pointing out the staggering differences in treatment.

The move came after it was revealed wives and partners of World Cup-bound Wallabies were flown to Sydney for farewells after multiple training camps and a trip to Arnhem Land before their departure to Paris, flying business class.

In contrast, the Wallaroos flew economy for recent matches in Canada with their coach, schoolteacher Jay Tregonning, who isn’t yet full time.

“You told us flying anything beyond economy was too costly, then you flew the Wallabies business class on a trip shorter than ours,” the Wallaroos said in the statement posted on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

“You told us full-time contracts are in the pipeline, that there wasn’t enough money to keep the men in the game, let alone us, then you paid $5 million for an NRL player.

“You said our program will go professional and our coach will be full-time. How many coaches has Eddie taken to the World Cup?

“You continually say we don’t have enough resources, yet we all saw the World Cup send-off for the Wallabies.

“The future of our game hangs in the balance. It’s your move Rugby Australia.”

The players were all in breach of their contracts by making the public statements but did so with RA’s knowledge.

In response, RA conceded, via a statement, it was working towards a “fully professional future” for the Wallaroos and players would be included in “all planning and developments” in the future.

“Rugby Australia will continue to involve the Wallaroos playing group, through RUPA (Rugby Union Players Association), in all planning and developments regarding investment in Women’s Rugby,” the RA statement said on Monday.

“We are taking steps towards a fully professional future for the Wallaroos and investing more broadly in women’s rugby across national and community competitions – and we know we have a way to go.

“In line with RA’s commitment to incorporate players on this journey, RA will continue to meet with the elected Super W representatives from each Super W team, the RUPA women’s player director and the Wallaroos leadership group to listen and work together, to support our female athletes and their coaching and support teams.”

The Wallaroos made the quarter-finals of the Women’s Rugby World Cup last year in New Zealand and have qualified as one of the world’s top six teams for a new competition in October.