Wales coach Warren Gatland and captain Ken Owens. BEN STANSALL / AFP
After a meeting with the governing bodies of Welsh rugby, an agreement was reached with the players. Who have lifted their strike threat for the game against England.
At the end of a tense day, during which more than a hundred professional players gathered at the Vale Resort hotel to negotiate with the leaders of Welsh rugby, an agreement was finally reached on Wednesday. And the internationals of the XV du Leek have agreed to lift their strike threats. The meeting counting for the 3e day of the Six Nations Tournament between Wales and England, Saturday (5:45 p.m.) in Cardiff, will therefore take place.
A sigh of relief as the determination seemed strong on the side of the players, very worried about the renegotiation of their contracts with their federation and their provinces. If all the details are not yet settled, the establishment of a salary shared between fixed and variable for new contracts has been postponed. Players will now have the choice between a potentially higher variable salary but based on bonuses or a lower guaranteed salary.
It has also been agreed that the contract freeze, which has been in place for months and which left more than 70 non-international players in limbo, will be lifted next week.
The Welsh internationals also demanded the removal of the 60-cap rule which prohibits a player playing overseas with fewer than that number of caps from being capped. This ceiling has been lowered: only 25 selections will now be required.
After this meeting with all the professional players, WRU chief executive Nigel Walker confirmed that the game against England would take place on Saturday.
The Welsh internationals, who have not trained since Tuesday to attend meetings with players from the four provinces, are expected to return to training on Thursday.
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