Wales players WITHDRAW strike threat ahead of crunch Six Nations clash with England

Wales players have withdrawn their threat to strike for Saturday’s Six Nations clash against England after reaching an agreement with their Welsh rugby bosses over contractual issues.

It means the Cardiff game will go ahead as planned after a week of unprecedented turmoil and chaos in Wales’ national game.

He first revealed last week that Warren Gatland’s stars were considering a strike for the England match in protest of contractual and financial uncertainty on their home soil.

Eight days later, and after a crucial meeting between the Welsh professional rugby board and all players in the country on Wednesday, a solution was found.

It means that after being in significant doubt, the Wales v England match is on.

Wales players have withdrawn a strike threat ahead of their Six Nations clash with England.

Wales manager Warren Gatland’s team announcement was canceled at 11am on Tuesday.

All of Wales’ professional players attended a crucial meeting with representatives of Welsh rugby’s Professional Rugby Board (PRB) on Wednesday, where discussions focused on how to avoid a strike.

The likes of Liam Williams, George North, Jonathan Davies and Dillon Lewis were seen arriving at the Vale Resort venue ahead of the historic meeting.

Canceling the England game would have cost Welsh rugby around £9m and added misery to the hotel industry.

The players set a deadline of Wednesday for their three main demands to be met with the WRU, or else they would go on strike, and have now reached a compromise.

The players wanted the controversial 60 cap rule removed, representation on the Professional Rugby Board (PRB) and the variable element removed from their contracts.

The 60 cap rules relate to allowing only players who have made over 60 appearances to play their domestic rugby outside of Wales and still play for Wales.

Meanwhile, a new six-year financial deal between the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) and Wales’ four professional regions (Dragons, Cardiff, Ospreys and Scarlets) has yet to be signed, leading to contractual uncertainty for Welsh players. whose agreements expire at the end of the season.

It means that the 90 or so Wales-based players who are out of contract at the end of the season cannot be offered new ones.

The key point is that the contract structure would incorporate both fixed and variable elements. It would mean players would receive 80 percent of their fixed salary, but 20 percent will be variable based on winning bonuses.

On Tuesday, Wales canceled their planned squad announcement for Saturday’s Six Nations with England at 11am, leaving the game in serious doubt as their players continued to threaten strike action.

Wales head coach Gatland expressed his belief at the time that there would soon be a resolution and the England game would be on, as is now the case.

sports mail understands that the Welsh players were furious at being pressured to withdraw their strike threat and agree to the WRU’s proposed terms.

Sportsmail understands that the Welsh players were furious at being pressured to withdraw their strike threat and agree to the WRU’s proposed terms.

The Gatland team trained on Tuesday morning, but their scheduled afternoon session was canceled in order for more meetings to take place.

The Gatland team trained on Tuesday morning, but their scheduled afternoon session was canceled in order for more meetings to take place.

After the Wales team announcement was cancelled, Gatland said he wished he had known about the problems before accepting the role. “I wasn’t aware of any of the issues at all, no,” Gatland said.

“I think it’s come to a head because everyone has to take some responsibility and I think people are very aware that these negotiations and discussions have gone on for far too long.”

“I think the players were assured on several occasions that it would be resolved and the unfortunate situation that they have not been able to reach an agreement in terms of PRB and the Union and the region.

“It finally came to a head, so I think we’ve all been asking for things to be worked out.” I wasn’t aware of any of the issues that were going on when I took the job. I wish I had known some things were going on. It’s been a challenge, but it is what it is, you have to take it with a chin.’