Cape Town – A dispute over pay structures between Stormers/Western Province players and their WP Rugby employers has been “put to bed”, according to a media statement issued on Monday.

GALLERY: Past weekend's sporting pictures

This follows a story in Sunday’s Rapport newspaper suggesting the Super Rugby franchise’s players were unhappy because they were not being paid enough in match fees and win bonuses.

According to an agreement involving the South African Rugby Players’ Association (SARPA), the report said, players are entitled to R3 000 a game and the same amount in win bonuses, but WP Rugby had been forking out only R2 000 in each category.

Monday’s statement, jointly compiled by WP Rugby and SARPA, said: “Senior WP management, SARPA, senior players and coaching staff today addressed the issue raised in a Sunday newspaper with regards to differing match fees and win bonuses paid between the franchises.

“The meeting resolved that the remuneration structures do differ amongst the franchises and the Stormers remuneration was clarified and matter put to bed.”

Stormers acting captain Jean de Villiers was quoted in the statement as saying: “This is not an issue amongst the Stormers and WP players. The player body is a settled and happy unit.

“Our focus remains solely on the upcoming Super Rugby fixtures and our campaign this season.”

The matter being resolved may come as a relief to Stormers supporters who recall the alleged “player revolt” after a dispute with management just ahead of the 1999 home semi-final with the Highlanders, in which the home team were comprehensively beaten.