Hopes pay dispute between players and 'half Super League clubs' will be settled

Six of the 12 Super League clubs have yet to reach an agreement with their players about pay-cuts when they return to training and playing.

Most have been on reduced wages - furlough pay, topped up by the clubs - since the season was halted due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Hull FC's decision to reinstate players to full pay when the action returns led to unrest among some players at other clubs, where they intend to keep the pay-cut in place as they deal with the fall-out of the Covid-19 crisis.

It sparked fears the season may not be able to resume as planned next month.

But former GB prop Garreth Carvell, who leads the players' association for the GMB Union, thinks an agreement will be reached soon before players are due to report back for training.

“It’s still on-going but we’re hoping it will be finalised by the end of the week," he told the Mirror. "Some clubs have been excellent with their communication throughout, and players there have been more accepting of cuts when they’ve seen exact figures in front of them.

"“There have been other clubs where players have had literally two emails telling them what the cuts are and it’s those we’re having a bit of a battle with.

"Time is of the essence and we want to finalise it this week so we can start concentrating on rugby.”