Numerous leading rugby unions including New Zealand and South Africa have announced significant pay cuts for their players, leading to many clubs' financial bubble bursts and transfer suspensions.

"The bubble is bursting. Right now, the clubs are taking notice of the reality. They're living outside of their means," Damien Dussault, agent of Fiji's Olympic gold medalist Semi Kunatani, said recently.

"On the market for players, the discussions don't ever really stop. They are slow right now because some teams don't know their budgets, some don't know when they'll restart playing," he added.

Also, the impact of COVID-19 has restricted France's clubs from adding to their squads.

"Transfers, recruitment are pretty much at a stop, when normally it's all finished by now," said Thomas Lombard, general manager of Paris-based rugby club Stade Francais.

"We're not in absolute emergency, but we need clarity on things."

South Africa Rugby

South Africa Rugby said in May their players would lose up to 43 percent of their income, and they allowed individuals to look for contracts abroad.

The country's star player Pieter-Steph du Toit, Springboks' World Player of the Year, was linked with Montpellier in a 3.7 million euro (4.03 million U.S. dollars) three-year deal two weeks ago.

Du Toit's fellow World Cup winners in Boks captain Siya Kolisi, props Frans Malherbe and Steven Kitshoff as well as Makazole Mapimpi and Lukhanyo Am were offered to French outfits but to no avail.

Australia Rugby

"As everyone is aware the impacts of COVID-19 have been felt in every country, across every industry, and rugby is no exception," Australia Rugby Interim CEO Rob Clarke said last week.

"189 professional rugby players in Australia accepted reduced pay for an interim period to enable the game to navigate the unprecedented situation.

New Zealand Rugby

New Zealand Rugby (NZR) and its players' union (NZRPA) issued a joint statement on April 16, stating they were freezing around 25 million New Zealand dollars (15.4 million U.S. dollars), or 50 percent of "forecasted player spend" for this year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Therefore, many top professional rugby players in the country, including the All Blacks, could lose half of their income if matches are still suspended amid the COVID-19 pandemic this year.

"In contemplating a scenario based on no professional rugby in 2020, NZR and the NZRPA together recognized the need to act now to prepare the game and the players for this," said Rob Nichol of the New Zealand Rugby Players' Association.

"In the event that this financial scenario eventuates, the frozen payments and benefits would become waived permanently. Alternatively, if professional rugby can resume and the financial outlook improves, then some of the frozen payments and benefits could be reinstated."

(With input from AFP)