England players lash out at punishing schedule

ENGLAND’S professional players will today rise up to condemn the brutal scheduling demands being placed upon them by the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and Premier Rugby Limited.

Since the game went professional 11 years ago, the players have often been a muted force, caught between the twin governing pillars of club and country.

But no longer. The Professional Rugby Players’ Association (PRA) will make public the findings of a wide-reaching poll of its 545 members.

Most believe the domestic season is too long and poorly structured. A huge majority feel that injuries – which leave 25% of all players sidelined at any one time – are more severe now due to the intensity of modern rugby.

The survey was conducted between January and March of this year long before the fixture schedule for the coming season was finalised.

The RFU have since organised an additional fourth England international for November 5 against New Zealand. With next summer’s tour to South Africa being brought forward due to the World Cup, the Premiership season has been squeezed. Four games in 16 days over the Christmas and New Year period may swell the clubs’ coffers, but it overlooks the impact of burnout on the Premiership’s elite players.

The MORI survey strengthens the PRA’s call for inclusion on the boards of all decision-making bodies.