Fly-half remains the best paid position in rugby union’s Premiership, while scrum-half is the lowest paid.

Figures in the latest Premiership Rugby salary cap report show senior player salaries dropped by 11.4% between the 2022-23 season and 2023-24.

However, there was a 14.5% increase in academy players’ salaries, indicating a shift towards investing in homegrown talent.

The latest salary cap report, external covers just the 2023-24 season, not the current 2024-25 campaign which soon ends.

Most positions have seen an average drop in salary, but fly-half, back-row and hooker all saw average increases.

Starting with the highest-paid to the lowest, the positions are ranked: fly-half, back-row, centre, lock, prop, full-back, hooker, wing and scrum-half.

The mean average for a fly-half was up to £231,182 and for a scrum-half £119,614.

Senior squad sizes are down from an average of 47 to 43 and the income of players with more than 50 international caps went down by an average of almost £22,000.