EDINBURGH Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend is to take a 25 percent pay deferral in response to the coronavirus outbreak, it was announced Tuesday. The same deferral, covering the periodApril 1 to September 1, will also apply to the coaches of Scotland’s two professional rugby union teams—Edinburgh boss Richard Cockerill and Glasgow counterpart Dave Rennie—as well as Scottish Rugby Union performance director Jim Mallinder. Rennie, however, is set to leave in June to become the coach ofAustralia. SRU chief executive Mark Dodson, one of the highest paid administrators in the game, will have a salary deferral of 30 percent from April 1 to September 1. There was an outcry when it was revealed that Dodson, already on a large annual salary of ?455,000 ($563,543) had received an additional ?478,000 in bonuses, accrued over three years and paid in one lump sum in 2019, bringing his total earnings to ?933,000 ($1.16 million). And the fact he is taking a deferral as opposed to a cut while rugby is in a shutdown that started a fortnight ago may lead to fresh criticism. But pay cuts for players and staff could become an option depending on how long the outbreak stops rugby being played, with the SRU anticipating coronavirus-induced consequences “for some time to come”. Scotland’s concluding Six Nations clash away to Wales was less than 24 hours before its scheduled March 14 date and may not now be played until October.—AP
