Former Ireland and Munster rugby star Alan Quinlan says 20 percent pay cuts for Irish international and provincial players will be implemented.
There have been pay deferrals in place since the game went into lockdown on March 13th. These deferrals are set to expire at the end of June.
Rugby Players Ireland previously expressed their disappointment over the leaking of media reports about proposed pay cuts, but speaking on OTB AM, Quinlan believes a deal will be agreed between the IRFU and Rugby Players Ireland next week.
"Ultimately, the IRFU are losing up to a million euro a month. They just can't keep going with the way they are going. They have got to put in some long terms plans and that will require pay cuts across the board to save money. They are still going to lose a lot of money, and with no real sight of fans going into games and the turnstiles clicking open again, I think they are going to have to weather the storm for a long time and part of that is pay cuts.
"I think (the players) know it's going to happen and it will be agreed. It's going to happen and that's the reality of it. They've got to take it on the chin. It's been more positive this week. Two people from the IRFU met two representatives of Rugby Players Ireland to thrash out a deal."
Non-playing staff are also set to be reduced to four day weeks under the IRFU's restructure.
Quinlan says the lure of professional rugby supported by wealthy individual owners in France could pose a threat to the Irish model that aims to keep internationals in this country and within the provincial structure.
"The financial clout of the French clubs will always be there and possibly some of the English Premiership clubs and that's going to pose a risk for some of the internationals going forward. If this situation gets fixed and international rugby comes back and the Six Nations, the Italy and France games get played, the TV money will come through to the IRFU. There's a lot of unknowns and uncertainties around that yet. Hopefully they can get back on track. In the short term, the players are going to have to take pay cuts. The pay cuts they could last for twelve months, they could last for two years, who knows."
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