It’s all change at the Rugby Players Association come the new year
It’s due to be all change at the Rugby Players Association come the new year with a raft of new non-executive directors and a new general secretary of the union coming in.
Having dealt with the impact of the pandemic on its members, the RPA has recently had to spring into action following the downfall of Premiership clubs Worcester Warriors and Wasps.
The association, along with the Rugby Football Union and Premiership Rugby, were scolded by a recent select committee in which the RPA were criticised for huge costs spent on wages and whether they could do more to give players a voice in running the game.
Association assets
“I hate using a consumer term like ‘product’ to describe players, but they’re our best asset. If you look after the players they give back,” incoming RPA non-executive director Hannah Bruce told City PM
“What rugby is lacking at the moment is the mechanisms by which players can have the opportunities to have their voices heard above informal mechanisms we’ve had historically.
“It’s about formalising that so players and their employers are clear and consistent about what the expectations are and how both sides can be accountable. It’s critical.”
The RPA was critical of rugby bodies in the DCMS hearing when it came to offering help to players when Premiership clubs went under, and stated that there was not enough support for those involved. Bruce says that more than 75 per cent of those players at Wasps and Worcester are now in new employment or schemes.
“We’ve seen this across sports governance more widely, this is not the first time a sporting club has gone into administration but I think the manner in which it was done and the lack of mechanisms for the organisations who are supposedly meant to have an oversight weren’t there,” added Bruce, also public policy head at the England and Wales Cricket Board.
“If there’s one positive that can come from this sorry saga it is that no other player has to go through the same process.”
New general secretary
The RPA will also be selecting a new general secretary to be the voice of players going forward. Mike Brown, Christian Day, Matt Garvey, Mark Lambert and Jamie Roberts – all former Premiership players – are standing.
Day told City PM: “The RPA general secretary is the figurehead of our organisation which represents around 700 professional players, both men and women, in English rugby union.
“Players have experienced so much turbulence and so many challenges over the past two years. The time is now right for a significant shift to be made in how players should be respected and valued and partners within the governance of the game.
“By respecting players in this way, the game can rebuild from these difficult times into a more inclusive and fairer environment for all players, empowering them to champion the game that they play as its most vibrant ambassadors.”
The English game is in crisis, and it appears that the movement behind players having a bigger voice at the highest level is gaining traction.