Each member of the All Blacks will get a NZ$100 000 ($70 000) bonus if they win the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France, a report said on Monday.
The bonus, which will include NZ$35 000 for reaching the final and another NZ$65 000 for winning it, is part of a collective agreement due to be unveiled this week between New Zealand’s professional players and the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU), the Dominion Post newspaper reported.
The players union and the NZRU came into conflict over players’ bonuses in the lead-up to the 2003 World Cup in Australia.
New Zealand, which is currently on tour in Britain and Ireland, has not won the World Cup since the inaugural event in 1987.
Under the agreement, New Zealand players’ Super 14 salaries will start at NZ$65 000 and All Blacks will be paid NZ$7 500 a week as a ”selection fee” while with the national team, the newspaper said. – Sapa-AFP