Jack Nowell prepared to take pay cut

David Skippers

Exeter Chiefs Jack Nowell is tackled by London Irish Alivereti Veitokani during the Gallagher Premiership match at the Madejski Stadium, Reading. PA Photo. Picture date: Sunday January 5, 2020. See PA story RUGBYU London Irish. Photo credit should read: David Davies/PA Wire. RESTRICTIONS: Editorial use only. No commercial use.

England and Exeter Chiefs flyer Jack Nowell said he is prepared to take a pay cut while the Premiership is suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Nowell and all other players received an email from the Rugby Players Association last week which outlines proposals for players to take a 25 per cent reduction.

Seven Premiership clubs – Bristol Bears, Leicester Tigers, Gloucester, Saracens, Wasps, Worcester Warriors and most recently Sale Sharks – have said they will comply with the proposals in a bid to offset the slump in revenue caused by the suspension of the league.

Exeter, who are the Premiership’s most financially robust club, will make a collective decision on the matter in due course but Nowell is the first to publicly support the proposal.

“We’ve not been told what our club’s stance is yet but Rob (Baxter) reiterated the RPA email on Friday,” Nowell told the Daily Mail. “These are unprecedented times so we’ll need to take unprecedented measures.

“Some boys will be happy about it, others won’t. We’ve got families to look after like everyone else, but we’re realistic that rugby doesn’t have the same finance as Premier League football.

“We all want to have a rugby team to go back to when this is over. That’s why the clubs are doing it. Everyone wants a job to go back to so maybe you need to take a little pay cut or tweak your contract.

“If the clubs really need this to stay afloat then the players will support it. I’ve been at Exeter since I was 16 so if the club said that to me, of course I’d back it.

“I want my team to survive, I want our league to survive and we all want rugby to enjoy when this is over, so I’m 100 per cent behind it.”

Exeter were on course to finish the season on a high as they they are in pole position in the Premiership standings and have advanced to the Champions Cup quarter-finals.

Despite that, Nowell is prepared for a worst-case scenario.

“To just call it quits now, after the journey we’ve had, would be gutting,” he added. “We believe we can go on and win the Heineken Cup and the Premiership if we have the chance.

“There’s guys like Nic White leaving at the end of the year. He’s booked a flight back to Australia for the day after the final. Little things like that are up in the air now. He doesn’t know whether he’ll be staying longer or not.

“The European Cup will probably be the first to give way; you’re flying to different countries and it will be tougher to keep going. It’s going to be hard to find those dates and get them pencilled in again.

“Maybe we’ll have to cut into our off season to do that. Again, no one really knows. The most likely outcome, unfortunately, is that we write off this season. You need to put rugby into perspective though, don’t you?”