England's players have decided against donating part of their 22,000 pounds match fee towards their Samoa counterparts ahead of their final autumn Test at Twickenham on Sunday after World Rugby disputed claims by the Samoan Union that the governing body was bankrupt.
Mako Vunipola, the Saracens prop who comes from a Tongan family, had proposed donating at least 1,000 pounds per player earlier this month and it was understood at the time that there was near universal agreement within the squad to do so.
Samoa's players only receive a $650 match fee in contrast and a widespread appeal has been launched ‑ #HELPSAMOA ‑ to help offset financial problems within the Samoan union which declared itself bankrupt only a few weeks ago.
That declaration has been disputed by World Rugby however and while the Rugby Football Union in England announced that it still intended to donate 75,000 pounds towards the Samoan Rugby Union as a goodwill gesture.
Source: RadioSports
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