Wales Rugby Players Could Receive $101,000 Bonuses For Winning Six Nations

Wales rugby players "could rake in" more than £80,000 ($101,000) each if interim head coach Rob Howley’s team completes a Six Nations Grand Slam this year, according to Andy Howell of WALES ONLINE. That is "the amount the likes of new skipper Alun Wyn Jones and Leigh Halfpenny will pocket if they beat Italy, England, Scotland, Ireland and France." The bumper prize fund assembled by Six Nations execs "is believed to be in the region" of £13M ($16.4M) and the Welsh Rugby Union would be in line for a cash windfall in excess of £5M ($6.3M) if Jones and Co. "upset the betting odds and finish top guns for the first time" since '13. The tournament’s prize pot "is distributed via a percentage system" and there is reportedly a bonus payment of around £1M ($1.26M) for any country winning this year’s title with a Grand Slam. But, "if no team cleans up, that money goes back into the overall pot." Wales players pocketed around £65,000 each for lifting the Six Nations title in '13 (WALES ONLINE, 1/25).