Professional rugby players and their employers have concluded a new two-and-a-half-year collective agreement governing conditions of employment across South African rugby.
The South African Rugby Industry Collective Agreement — SARICA — is negotiated by MyPlayers on behalf of players, with SARU and the South African Rugby Employers' Organisation (SAREO) representing the unions and franchises on the other side of the table.
SAREO Chairperson Ettienne de Lange described SARICA as "the foundation on which all rugby players are contracted," adding that it covers everyone from Springbok internationals to age-group and development players at unions, and applies equally to men and women.
Beyond standardised remuneration, the agreement provides for comprehensive medical scheme benefits, income replacement insurance for disability and catastrophic injury, concussion and head injury management provisions, rest periods and workload management, a contracting model covering player numbers and salary caps, and annual leave and off-season protections.
The load management provisions are among the more detailed elements of the updated agreement. MyPlayers CEO Eugene Henning noted that managing a 12-month playing calendar without a uniform close season presents particular challenges, and said the new SARICA reflects World Rugby's position that individualised load management is the "gold standard" approach to player welfare.
The agreement mandates a minimum of 12 non-contact weeks per contract year. Five of those constitute annual leave, with three to be taken in an uninterrupted block in line with World Rugby guidelines. The remaining seven weeks can be drawn from additional leave, bye weeks, injury rehabilitation, travel periods or parental leave.
Henning said the load profile of South African players compares favourably with players in countries that have a defined close season, crediting the high-performance departments of the employer unions and franchises.
SA Rugby CEO Rian Oberholzer said the agreement "balances the interests of everyone in the industry" and ensures professional rugby in South Africa is run consistently and fairly.