Australian rugby poached Marieke Koroibete and put Jarryd Hayne on its hit-list but Wallabies coach Michael Cheika "believes union and league will soon have to work together to fight off European raiders" with over A$20M ($14.4M) a year to spend, according to Iain Payten of the Sydney DAILY TELEGRAPH. Cheikas’ call for an alliance between the rival codes "came after extending his contract with the ARU through to 2019." A new TV rights deal for the English Premiership is due in '18 and, along with increased Rugby Football Union funding, some "are forecasting the salary cap will rise" from A$14M ($10M) to over A$20M ($14M).
That would see Kurtley Beale’s reported $1.45M ($1M) a season deal with Wasps "go from outlier to common." Cheika said, "You look at Wasps. They’re going to be like Manchester City. They’ll have blokes who have played 50 caps for their country on the bench. If they can, good on them." But Cheika said that "he had no desire to conduct mass league raids, and indeed said the rivals should put heads together to ensure Aussie footy fans of all stripes don’t lose their favourite players." Cheika said, "I am a massive league fan but I am not keen to go down that path (of chasing NRL players). I don’t see that as some magic wand. I would say ourselves and league are probably together in the battle against Europe, in terms of keeping players, to be honest. Their players are getting targeted now, too." Cheika did not specify what collaboration could occur but the Wallabies coach "has spoken previously about sharing coaching ideas and sports science resources" (DAILY TELEGRAPH, 5/19).
