Rugby: England players to take 25% cut in match fees - Telegraph

(Reuters) - England players will take a 25% cut to their match fees as part of a new one-year deal with the Rugby Football Union (RFU) to help the governing body deal with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Telegraph reported.

The players' previous four-year deal, which saw them earn 23,000 pounds ($30,675.10) per game, expired over the summer and the new agreement is worth 17,250 pounds per match, it said.

The pay cuts are in line with the 25% reductions accepted by head coach Eddie Jones and his coaching staff.

Last month, the RFU projected a short-term revenue loss of 107 million pounds due to the closure of Twickenham Stadium and also proposed making 139 positions within the organisation redundant.

The RFU and the players' union did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.

If confirmed, the new deal would come into effect in October when England face Italy in the final round of the Six Nations Championship, a fixture that was postponed from earlier in the year due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

(Reporting by Arvind Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)