Rory Arnold’s chance of playing at the Rugby World Cup has been stymied by the prohibitive cost of insuring his $1.5 million contract in Japan, which has stopped the giant Wallabies lock returning to play in Australia.
Arnold, who is Australia’s highest-paid player, has not played a game this year after his club in Japan, the Hino Red Dolphins, withdrew from the League One (Division 2) competition for a season after some players were involved in a drunken bar scandal in Oita. Arnold was part of a wider group of players out on the night but was not involved in any wrongdoing.
The voluntary shut-down of Hino four games into the season left Arnold without a club to play for in 2023, and with it, the ability to impress Eddie Jones for selection in the Wallabies’ squad for World Cup, starting in September in France.
Since leaving Australia for France after the 2019 World Cup, Arnold has been recalled as an overseas-based “Giteau Law” pick for six Wallabies Test appearances, and was a starting lock last year against Argentina and South Africa.
Though there was interest for Arnold to return to a Super Rugby club in Australia after the Hino withdrawal, it would have required the 208cm forward to walk away from his three-year, $4.5 million contract. Having only played two games for the Red Dolphins, Arnold elected to stay in Japan and see out his contract.
The other option was for Arnold to return to Australia on loan from Hino, but that arrangement would require Rugby Australia and/or the Super Rugby club to insure Arnold’s massive contract, in the event of the 32-year-old suffering a career-ending injury while playing.
Rory Arnold has played 32 Tests for the Wallabies.Credit: Getty
Insurance companies quoted Rugby Australia premiums of over $20,000 a month, which could have approached a total of $100,000 for Arnold to have returned for a majority of Super Rugby season.
World Rugby covers the insurance costs of players’ club contracts during international windows but Rugby Australia would be responsible for the huge sum for Arnold alone in the Super Rugby season, and it was therefore not pursued.
Rory Arnold is a lineout master.Credit: AP
It has left Arnold stuck between a rock and a hard place, in the form of a lucrative contract and Eddie Jones’ hardline stance that all World Cup contenders must be playing to earn selection.
Jones did not select Arnold in his first squad of 57 players, which contained a group of seven overseas-based players, who dialled into a recent camp via Zoom. One of them was Rory’s twin brother Richie, who plays for Toulouse but had never been picked for a Wallabies squad before.
Jones has not hidden his view about Arnold’s choice to stay in Japan, making several digs when asked about the 32-cap Wallaby’s selection chances.
“I think he’s working on the factory line at Hino isn’t he?,” Jones said in April.
“I think he’s making those trucks because he’s not playing rugby at the moment. To get selected, you have to be playing rugby. We don’t pick players that make Hino trucks.”
Jones met several Australian players in Japan last week, including Quade Cooper, Samu Kerevi, Tom Banks and Bernard Foley. But he didn’t meet with Arnold.
Eddie Jones at Manly Savers Junior Rugby Club training.Credit: Rugby Australia
“He’s not playing and if he’s not playing, it’s very hard to get selected,” Jones said on Monday. “I can’t play him if he’s playing mahjong. You’re playing mahjong, well, it doesn’t get you on the team. I didn’t go to any mahjong clubs.”
Arnold, who has continued to train in Tokyo, declined to comment on his situation when approached by this masthead.
The tallest-ever Wallaby may still be a shot at winning selection, with his superb lineout skills and a trusted starter in Test, Super and European rugby. But the window is small; Jones only has four Tests in the Rugby Championship to assess form before selecting a final 34-man World Cup squad in August.
The Wallabies have some depth in the locking ranks with Cadeyrn Neville, Will Skelton, Jed Holloway, Nick Frost, Darcy Swain and Ned Hanigan. Matt Philip is due to return in coming weeks after a speedy seven-month rehabilitation from a blown ACL, which the big lock suffered ahead of the Spring Tour last year.
Izack Rodda is also returning from a foot injury, and hasn’t played this year. But unlike Arnold, the Force lock was named in Jones’ 57-man squad.
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