Former Wallaroos flanker Kirby Sefo went into "an exorbitant amount of debt" to afford to live where the team was based on an insufficient income.
The pressure of living in the northern beaches of Sydney — where the team was based — with expensive rent and no spare time for employment became overwhelming for Sefo. "I started a family, I wasn't able to contribute to any sort of mortgage applications … there's a lot of other things that flow on from that."Since then, pay and conditions have improved for women in both the rugby sevens and Wallaroos squads.
Players contracted at the highest tier earn up to $72,458 per year in combined payments for Wallaroos and Super Rugby Women's participation. "We need to start providing them the right pay, the right environment, the right training opportunities and without that, they're never going to be able to close that gap on the world ranking."It hasn't been the best start for the Wallaroos' first full-time coach, Jo Yapp, who lost all three games of the Pacific Four Series, with the team subsequently dropped to the WXV 2 pool, which begins in September.
"I just think for young girls, the way the NRLW has marketed, supported and paid their athletes at a club level, I think it's a very smart and strategic move by them that has definitely paid off."England, New Zealand and France women's teams have all been made professional, and the results speak for themselves, with the teams ranked first, second and fourth in the world, respectively.
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