ACT Brumbies and Wallabies star Scott Sio says players need a voice to keep rugby alive

The ACT Brumbies prop has lauded the governing body for working alongside the Rugby Union Players Association to strike a pay deal in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

Australia's professional players have agreed to an average 60 per cent salary reduction through to September 30, with negotiations to open again should they return to play.

Now Rugby Australia's greatest challenges lie in building a feasible competition model for the remainder of 2020 and striking a broadcast deal in what chief executive Raelene Castle dubbed a "challenged position".

Brumbies RUPA representative Sio believes dialogue between the governing body and the playing group is crucial to any plans regarding the code's future.

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"The only thing that needs to change is how we continue to cooperate moving forward," Sio said.

"We can keep building on that from where we are now. It will only be good for the game as well, showing solidarity from the top down is going to be pretty crucial to keep everyone motivated.

"If everyone sees we are working hand in hand, it will help everyone cooperate with whatever plan we work on moving forward in the coming months.

"Luckily for us, we had that opportunity to get a bit of clarity across the game there. For some other sports they were told that's how it was and they had to bite the bullet.

"We're very thankful to RA for giving us the opportunity to negotiate and talk things out, and see what we all collectively thought was the best possible outcome moving forward for rugby.

"At the end of the day that was the main focus of everything, to work together to see how we could keep the game alive over the coming months."

Brumbies players have split up for training as they wait for the all clear to return to the club's University of Canberra headquarters.

Officials are building a range of competition models in the hope Super Rugby can resume in some form this season, with a domestic tournament looking most likely.

Sio is desperate to return to action but concedes the uncertainty makes training alone or in pairs more difficult.

"It obviously is when you don't quite have an end goal in sight. It's about individual progression," Sio said.

"How can we continue to grow ourselves so when the opportunity does arise to come back together, the collective can take off when it needs to?

"Having that clarity over the weekend just on this short-term problem was probably a good thing for a lot of the boys, so we know the focus now is on competition structure and when we can get back on the field."