Higginbotham 'let down' by contract process
Rebels-bound Scott Higginbotham has called for an overhaul of the "silly" and distracting contracting process that has seen him leave the Super Rugby champion Queensland Reds.
The 25-year-old flanker is keen to take on a leadership role at the Rebels and can't wait to play alongside James O'Connor and Kurtley Beale, but had plenty to say about the muddled contractual situation that preceded the most difficult decision of his career.
After initially agreeing to stay with the Reds a month ago, the Rebels trumpeted their star signing, with the 11-Test Wallaby moving to the Victorian franchise for the 2013 and 2014 seasons.
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His change of heart came after the ARU top-up component of his deal was short of the mark, surprising both the player and Queensland Rugby Union officials. Before this year, players negotiated with the ARU first for top-up deals before deciding on their province.
Higginbotham spoke to the media before the Captain's Run training session at Ballymore and spoke of his disappointment in leaving a side and coaching staff that has turned him from a raw prospect to an in-form Wallaby forward.
He also took a swipe at the complicated, dual-contracting system that requires players and managers to essentially negotiate two contracts in the middle of a Super Rugby season.
"It was the hardest decision I've ever had to make. In a perfect world, this is my home and I'd like to play here forever. That's not the case," Higginbotham said.
"It's tough to sort out. You're doing two different deals. It's a tough way to do things. The way it's all structured, where you have to do these deals while you are still playing, is a tough and silly way to do things.
"That's the way they've decided to go about it."
Higginbotham said a streamlined contracting process should be conducted after the season and the uncertainty surrounding the future of some of the Reds' biggest names, including Quade Cooper, was on the mind of Ewen McKenzie's playing group.
"I think so. Doing it after the season would be a lot easier. It is a distraction on other players. We're obviously going through this now with Quade and what he's going to do. They're all thinking about that," Higginbotham said.
"It's also hard to say you want to stay somewhere if you don't know if someone else is staying somewhere. It's got all the things like that. It would be a better thing too do when you're not playing footy."
Higginbotham is 25, a veteran considering the youth of many of his Reds colleagues, and said the financial security offered by the Rebels was difficult to resist, even if his heart remained with the Reds.
"That's why players are staying here because it's such a good culture and it's a great team," he said.
"Melbourne came along with a good deal and a deal that suited me. I suppose at this point in my life, with my age, I decided that it was the right option for me.
"If I was two years younger and as young as the majority of the squad, I'd have no worries about staying in Queensland."
A disappointed McKenzie felt the ARU's new contracting process, which is set to include a yet-to-be-determined salary cap, let a frustrated Higginbotham down after he wanted to stay in Brisbane.
"We have to work within our structures," he said.
"We offered him a good deal and we've delivered a good rugby program to him that's made him a Wallaby and that's all you can do.
"At the end of the day, he'd like to be living in Queensland and surfing the beaches up here.
"But the bottom line is we can only pay players what they are individually worth in our squad."
The Reds meet the Lions in a must-win game and will start heavy favourites in a match that will feature the return of Cooper, who plays his first game since the knee injury that ended his World Cup last year.
The five-eighth provided a small scare after leaving a game of touch football at training to work on agility and further warm-ups but rejoined the session and will start on Saturday night.
- with AAP
