Clark would have “no issue” taking pay cut

Warrington hooker Daryl Clark has said he’d have “no issue” taking a pay cut in order to help save the sport, whilst also giving an update on how he’s coping in lockdown.

Rugby league has been out of action for over two weeks now, as the whole world continues to battle through the Covid-19 pandemic, with the subject of pay cuts and furloughing becoming increasingly prevalent.

Earlier this week Leeds and Salford confirmed they have furloughed the majority of staff, while several Championship and League 1 clubs have also taken advantage of the government scheme, which allows employees to be paid 80% of their wages up to £2,500 per month.

Other clubs are said to be considering their next steps in regards to staffing but Clark insists he would be inclined to accept reduced wages if it would benefit the game.

“We’re all in the same boat,” he said. “No one wants to take pay cuts but if that’s the case then we need to do it as a team or as a whole Super League organisation. If one’s in then everyone should be in, there should be no exceptions.

“I’d have no issue with taking a pay cut for the survival of our game and our club. There are some people in much worse positions than us that are not getting paid at all so as long as we can keep paying our bills and stuff we shouldn’t complain.”

The UK has been in ‘lockdown’ for just over a week now, with strict guidelines restricting how often people can leave their homes.

Clark, like most players, is still training remotely but admits he’s beginning to find everything a bit too repetitive.

“It’s starting to get a bit boring now, I’m running out of things to do,” said the 27-year-old. “But I’ve been lucky enough to borrow some equipment from Warrington so I’ve got a little setup in the garden.

“There’s a watt bike, a few weights, dumbbells, a medicine ball and stuff like that so I’ve been able to do different stuff every day but I’m running out of ideas now.

Gruelling session this afternoon in Self isolation ??‍♂️☀️ #wattbikechallege #20k pic.twitter.com/3JXTB050uN

— Daryl Clark (@Darylclark9) March 26, 2020

“I’ve been alright so far for just over a week but I think the longer it goes on the harder I’m going to find it.”

Before the emergency break was enforced, Warrington had recorded two straight victories after what was a mixed start to 2020.

Big wins over St Helens and Toronto were compounded by heavy defeats against Leeds and Wakefield, leaving the Wolves fourth in the Super League table after seven matches.

Clark started those final two games on the bench as an injury precaution but was pleasantly surprised with his role as an impact player.

“I was struggling with my ankle and I had a small hairline fracture in my arm, which was just from a knock,” he explained. “I wasn’t training in full throughout the week so it was more of just a management thing.

“But it seemed to work pretty well so I’m not quite sure if he (Steve Price) is going to stick with that or swap it back around.

“We had a good performance against Cas, then we went to Hull and also had a good performance, so it felt like we were starting to hit our stride.

“Now with this disruption we don’t know exactly how long we’re going to be out for. (We don’t know) if it’s four weeks, eight weeks or a couple of months.

“It could even be four or five months so it could be like starting all over again. Hopefully that’s not the case and we can get back out there sooner rather than later but we’re all in the dark at the minute.”

The key for most clubs at present is keeping players fit and healthy enough so that the transition back into full-time training and playing, whenever that may be, is as seamless as possible.

Warrington are no different and Clark insists the priority will be continuing the momentum they began to gather.

“Hopefully we can come back in some sort of reasonable condition,” he continued. “Once the games start again we’ll hopefully pick up where we left off with those two decent wins.

“Between now and whenever that is, we’ve just got to keep doing the right things and hopefully we’ll be in the right frame of mind and the right fitness by the time that comes.”