Wales' Six Nations clash with England will go ahead this weekend after strike action was avoided following crunch talks on Wednesday.
Professional Rugby Board (PRB) chair Malcolm Wall confirmed an agreement had been reached with Welsh Rugby Players' Association (WRPA) chief executive officer Gareth Lewis over a series of key issues that had led to a realistic threat of the fixture not taking place.
The settlement of a significant contract dispute came after the PRB agreed a reduction to the 60-cap rule that governs international selection and revised the fixed-and-variable contract offer for players.
Only 25 international caps will be required for players before being able to play freely outside of Wales, and still be available for the national side, while Lewis will attend all PRB meetings.
A new contract agreement, under the newly proposed new Professional Rugby Agreement (PRA), will contain a fixed-only option, as well as a fixed-variable deal that Wales' professional sides will work under.
"We have listened to our players and have been able to resolve the three issues presented, quickly and efficiently," said Wall after the announcement.
"The six-year framework we have agreed has always had the players' best interests at heart and we have been happy to allay their understandable concerns with the adjustments described.
"Negotiations at PRB will continue in earnest as we seek to sign our new six-year PRA as soon as possible and we continue to be grateful to our professional players for their understanding and patience at this most critical time for the game in Wales."
Warren Gatland delayed his squad announcement on Tuesday amid ongoing discussions, with Wales players reportedly keen to have matters sorted by the following day.
Those plans came to fruition after negotiations between the four Wales professional sides and WRPA representatives at Principality Stadium, and a further meeting among international and club players.
"I'm grateful to PRB members for the meaningful consultation that has taken place over the past days and weeks and for the compromises they have made in getting to this point," said WRPA's Lewis.
"The impasse that was reached this week is of course regrettable for all parties but, having now been granted a place within PRB, the players' voices can now be heard which will avoid any repeat of situations like this in the future.
"The players are now keen to put this matter behind them and concentrate on preparations for one of the biggest matches in the international sporting calendar in Cardiff on Saturday."
Welsh Rugby Union interim chief executive officer Nigel Walker added: "The PRB has been agile and receptive to the players' requests and the players have, equally, been responsible and reasonable in their dealings with the PRB which is a credit to all parties.
"We will all now put this matter behind us and I know the nation will also unite as one behind the team when they face England.
"The game is on and, whilst there is still some detail to discuss and some fine tuning to be done in our negotiations at PRB, this is undoubtedly been a linchpin moment from which we can build."
Wales are bottom of the table after losing to Ireland and Scotland at the start of Gatland's second spell as head coach.
Borthwick names unchanged starting England team for Australia clash
Steve Borthwick has named an unchanged starting team for England's match against Australia on Saturday with two changes on the bench.
England enter their second November Test looking to bounce back from their narrow 24-22 defeat to New Zealand last weekend.
Borthwick, however has elected to name the same group that started against the All Blacks, though Henry Slade will shift to inside centre, while Ollie Lawrence moves to outside centre.
Marcus Smith retains his place at fly-half while Jamie George continues to lead the side at hooker, but there is no place for Theo Dan or Ben Curry.
The pair are replaced by Luke Cowan-Dickie and Ollie Sleightholme as England move from a six-two split between forwards and backs to a five-three combination.
Hooker Cowan-Dickie will make his first England appearance since November 2022 if he is introduced off the bench.
“Facing Australia is always a massive challenge, and we’ll work diligently this week to ensure we’re physically and tactically prepared to take on the Wallabies,” said Borthwick.
“The passion and energy from the crowd at Allianz Stadium last weekend was absolutely brilliant, from the opening whistle to the final moments, and we can't wait to be back at home this Saturday."
England squad in full:
George Furbank, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Ollie Lawrence, Henry Slade, Tommy Freeman, Marcus Smith, Ben Spencer; Ellis Genge, Jamie George (captain), Will Stuart, Maro Itoje, George Martin, Chandler Cunningham-South, Tom Curry, Ben Earl.
Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Fin Baxter, Dan Cole, Nick Isiekwe, Alex Dombrandt, Harry Randall, George Ford, Ollie Sleightholme
Salt confirmed as England wicketkeeper despite Buttler return for West Indies T20Is
Phil Salt will be wicketkeeper in England’s upcoming T20I series against West Indies as white-ball captain Jos Buttler looks to improve his captaincy.
Buttler has been ruled out with a calf strain but will return to England's squad for the five-match T20I series that begins on Saturday.
Until now, Salt has kept in just 13 of his 59 England appearances across all formats but has taken up the mantle for the ongoing ODI series against West Indies.
Buttler, on the other hand, has donned the gloves in 106 of his 108 T20Is.
Salt, though, is enjoying his new role.
"It's not something I've done a lot for England recently, but I enjoy keeping. I feel like that's where I offer most to the side," Salt said, as reported by ESPN.
"We've not had a chat about anything going forward. I'm just glad to be doing it at the moment."
While Salt is not guaranteed the gloves after this series, he will find comfort in Buttler's intent to optimise his captaincy by experimenting with a role in the field.
"I was going to give up the gloves and commit to being at mid-off and see how that felt. If it will help me with my captaincy it is something I am open to," Buttler told Sky Sports in September after being ruled out of the T20 series against Australia.
England are tied 1-1 in their ODI series against the West Indies with the decider to be played on Wednesday.
Smith not pinning blame on Ford for England loss
Marcus Smith does not blame England's narrow defeat to New Zealand on Saturday on George Ford, despite his late missed kicks.
Ford replaced Smith, who had scored 17 points and set up England's only try in their 24-22 loss, hitting a potential match-winning penalty against the post before narrowly missing a drop goal.
England had held an eight-point advantage when Smith left the field, but Mark Tele'a's 76th-minute try before Damian McKenzie added five late points proved enough to get the All Blacks over the line.
The hosts' autumn series got off to a losing start as Ford struggled to find his clinical edge in the dying moments, but Smith does not lay any blame at his team-mate's feet.
"Sometimes that's the life of a kicker, we've all experienced that. It's part and parcel of the job," said Smith.
"I've learned so much off George. He's an unbelievable kicker, both off the tee and out of hand. It was one of those days.
"It's nothing to do with him why we didn't win the game. It's a team effort. Every kicker in the world has experienced that.
"We practise [drop-goals] as kickers every single day, but sometimes it doesn't go for you. We're all human and people miss."
Saturday marked a third consecutive narrow loss to New Zealand for England, with their last win an emphatic victory over Japan in June.
Despite that run, Smith remains confident that England can take lessons from these defeats to set themselves up for success in the future.
"International rugby is very different to the Premiership and the experiences we're experiencing now are very painful, but we'll be better for them," Smith added.
"Keep the faith. We've fallen again on the wrong side of the result, but we'll learn from it 100%.
"These experiences will tighten us as a group, and it will be worth it in the long run. We will be better for it."
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