Wallaroos players have lashed Rugby Australia [RA] for inequities between the women's and men's national programs, claiming their team have been lied to.
Current Test players shared a statement on social media on Sunday, saying it's time for the governing body to invest properly in the women's game and referenced the success of the Matildas, who finished fourth in the FIFA Women's World Cup.
No expense has been spared in the Wallabies preparation for next month's Rugby World Cup in France, with multiple training camps and a trip to Arnhem Land before their departure to Paris.
The Wallaroos players' statement came after RA social media channel rugby.com.au reshared a TikTok video of Wallabies fly-half Carter Gordon's girlfriend being flown from Melbourne to Sydney to farewell her partner with all expenses paid for by RA, it's alleged.
According to an RA insider, who spoke exclusively to ESPN, the decision to reshare the video on Wallabies' social media channels came "directly from the top" with an investigation into whether the funding came from sponsorship or from RA finances already underway.
It was also revealed it was only at the request of Gordon's partner, Abbey Lewis, that the video was taken down from Wallabies' social channels as she felt "uncomfortable" with the attention she was receiving.
Later on Monday, RA released a statement in response to the players' gripes, admitting it had much more to do for women's rugby in Australia.
"Rugby Australia will continue to involve the Wallaroos playing group, through RUPA (Rugby Union Players Association), in all planning and developments regarding investment in Women's Rugby," the RA statement said on Monday.
"We are taking steps towards a fully professional future for the Wallaroos and investing more broadly in women's rugby across national and community competitions - and we know we have a way to go.
"In line with RA's commitment to incorporate players on this journey, RA will continue to meet with the elected Super W representatives from each Super W team, the RUPA Women's Player Director, and the Wallaroos leadership group to listen and work together, to support our female athletes and their coaching and support teams."
Test backrower Grace Hamilton was one of the players to post the statement, which claimed her team, who recently played two Pacific Four matches in Canada, always flew economy while their male counterparts were in business class.
your move pic.twitter.com/zJ1BHlcPvC
— Grace Hamilton (@GracieJHamilton) August 20, 2023
Hamilton recently joined the Sydney Roosters NRLW side.
It was also revealed the players would have a sit down with RA CEO Phil Waugh, who replaced Andy Marinos in June, in coming days in direct response to the player statement.
The statement said RA told players there was no money for full-time playing contracts and criticised the amount paid to recruit league star Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii.
It also pointed out that their coach, school teacher Jay Tregonning, wasn't full-time yet Wallabies coach Eddie Jones had multiple assistants.
"You told us flying anything beyond economy was too costly, then you flew the Wallabies business class on a trip shorter than ours," the Wallaroos said in the statement posted on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
"You told us full-time contracts are in the pipeline, that there wasn't enough money to keep the men in the game let alone us then you paid $5 million for an NRL player.
"You said our program will go professional and our coach will be full-time. How many coaches has Eddie taken to the World Cup?
"You continually say we don't have enough resources and yet we all saw the World Cup send-off for the Wallabies."
With Australia set to host the women's Rugby World Cup in 2029, the Wallaroos demanded RA invest properly in their team and development pathways.
"It's time for the chairman, board and CEO to prioritise the future of Australia women's rugby and allocate adequate resources," they tweeted.
"The future of our game hangs in the balance. It's your move Rugby Australia."
Former Wallaroos player and current NRLW Sydney Roosters prop Millie Boyle added to the pile on, telling the Big Sports Breakfast RA had been "taking the piss out of" the Wallaroos players for some time, while other codes had made massive gains in their women's program.
"I did see the post from the Wallaroos girls airing their frustrations and I've been part of the Wallaroos, I've played for the Wallaroos for a couple of years, and I absolutely understand their frustration, they don't the support they deserve," Boyle said.
"They have shown how good they can be if they do have those resources; that time put into them, the coaching and development. But they absolutely have been taken the piss out of in my opinion and that's been the same since the very first day I was apart of them as well.
"It hasn't really improved and there's a lot of teams and other codes that are doing better than Rugby Australia and it seems that all their time and money and resources and energy are going into the men."