Townsend among Scottish Rugby staff taking 25% wage deferral

Scottish Rugby has announced a range of cost-cutting measures to deal with the coronavirus shutdown, including wage deferrals for senior coaches.

National team head coach Gregor Townsend, Edinburgh Rugby’s Richard Cockerill and Glasgow Warriors’ Dave Rennie have all agreed to defer 25% of their salaries until the crisis is over.

All rugby, from international to grassroots level, is suspended as Scotland looks to get to grips with the spread of the virus.

The shutdown has a financial impact on clubs and the governing body, prompting today’s announcement.

Scottish Rugby said that their CEO Mark Dodson would take a 30% wage deferral until September, with other directors cutting their salary by 25% for the duration.

In addition, all work on Project Eden, the new stadium for Edinburgh Rugby development on the BT Murrayfield back pitches, has been suspended until further notice, and all non-critical spending at Murrayfield and elsewhere is on hold.

Chairman of the Scottish Rugby Board, Colin Grassie said: “We are working extremely hard to navigate the sport of rugby in Scotland through these extremely challenging times. We would like to thank all our staff, sponsors, stakeholders for their support and collaboration.

“We have a huge challenge ahead of us, but we will get there together and we will leave no stone left unturned to ensure the long term sustainability of Scottish Rugby and the sport in Scotland.”

The governing body said it was in close contact with World Rugby over the rescheduling of the international calendar but that there was no update on the planned Summer Tour at this point.

Scotland still has one Six Nations match to play, against Wales in Cardiff, after it was postponed at the outbreak of the virus.