We still need details from Genge but RPA deserves more credit - Andy Goode
Rugby needs more characters like Ellis Genge and I’m intrigued to hear more detail about his plans for a new players’ union but the RPA deserves far more credit for what they do. He has said he’s “not making a new RPA” but I’m just not sure what commercial or legal advice he thinks was lacking from the existing players’ union in the current climate. I’ve seen all of the RPA’s recent communication to players and they’ve done a good job.
It’s a great organisation and they have constantly been giving advice in recent weeks about the pay cuts and where players stand legally. It’s also much more than that though, and its members are the envy of other players across the globe who don’t have access to the same benefits.
Whether it’s Provale in France or equivalents in the Southern Hemisphere, none can match the work of the RPA and it only costs the players around £200 per year.
The Lift the Weight campaign and Restart, which is the official charity of the RPA, are doing amazing work and players have access to 24/7 confidential counselling if they’re struggling in any way so there is a huge amount of support made available.
One thing that has come out of this that needs clearing up is the perception that the RPA might have a conflict of interest because it receives funding from the RFU and Premiership Rugby.
That simply isn’t the case because there are very separate strands to the work that the RPA does. The money from the RFU and Premiership Rugby funds the welfare and education programmes that are run.
The players’ subs, revenue generated from various events or dinners and income from commercial partners goes towards representing the players, including providing massive insurance cover.
That insurance has paid out hundreds of thousands of pounds to players this season alone and that’s money most players just wouldn’t have got otherwise because that level of cover would cost a player thousands and thousands if they were to source it themselves.
I think players are also guaranteed full pay for ten and a half months now if they’re injured, which is something the RPA has fought for as part of a standard contract for Premiership players with just the remuneration and length of contract differing between players really.
Commercially, the RPA has done a phenomenal job too and the negotiation of the England players’ contracts is a prime example of that. Players get just under £25,000 per game to play for England and that’s £8,000 more than any other country.
Again, I’m really interested to see the detail of Genge’s proposal and I’m not knocking him at all without seeing that but at the moment what he’s describing sounds more like an agency or the kind of services that an agent would provide.
He says players were “advised from the off to sign the contracts without reading them almost” but no agent worth their salt would allow their client to do that and that wasn’t the advice from the RPA at all as they laid out the options available to players.
I had a close working relationship with my agent, Duncan Sandlant of Esportif, for 16 years during my career as a professional rugby player and I would’ve trusted him with anything to do with my career so maybe some players aren’t getting that commercial and legal support from their agents.
It is different now because when I was growing up nobody really dreamed of earning big sums of money from playing rugby, whereas nowadays you do hear stories of agents selling young players the dream.
Whether that’s buying boots in bulk themselves and telling their client they’ve got a deal with a brand when that may not be the case or just not being completely up front and honest with players, not all agents are equal but a good one is worth their weight in gold and they do provide good commercial and legal advice.
I think any new union will involve players contributing a significant amount more than £200 per year so it’ll be interesting to see what they would get back for that investment because that’s the crucial thing for potential members.
It has also been mentioned that a new players’ union may be able to get funding from external sources but wealthy individuals or companies aren’t going to be queuing up to invest money that they may never see again so it’ll be interesting to see what they’d get in return.
I was the first to admit that when this situation first arose I would have been very reluctant to take a pay cut but things have moved on now and I just think it’s a reality because rugby isn’t being played and we want to have a professional sport to come back to.
I also want the players to earn as much as possible but only within the realms of what is sustainable for the game and I think, with businesses losing money hand over fist at the moment, there has to be a recognition that there may be fewer commercial opportunities and less money available in the short term when we do return rather than more.
The proof of the pudding will be in the eating in terms of Gengey’s plans and I’ll reserve judgement until we have more details but I’ve eaten a lot of puddings and I think at the moment it looks like this one needs a few more ingredients!
Comments on RugbyPass
Don’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
9 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
33 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
2 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
33 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
49 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
33 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
33 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
33 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
33 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
1 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to commentsObscene that SA haven’t been knocking
1 Go to commentsChances of Blackadder being injured seem too high to give him serious consideration. ABs loosie combination finally looked good with 2 committed to tackling and clearing rucks in the centre and Ardie roaming. Hoskins/Ardie together would force one of them into where they don’t excel and don’t get to use their talent, or require a change in tactics. If we continue to evolve last years systems I would take Papali’i and Finau at 6 and 7 (conceding that Blackadder will be injured) and Ardie at 8.
33 Go to commentsArdie’s preferred position 7? Where do they get these writers from? I've no idea where he's playing in Japan, but the previous two seasons he wore the 7 jersey exactly twice.
17 Go to commentsNot good to hear Ulster described as “financially troubled”. Did not think it was getting to that level. I would hope the Irish system of spreading players of talent away from Leinster would kick in now. Better to have a Leinster fringe player with Ulster or Connacht, then getting only a few games a season in Dublin. 10, for example, would seem to be a case for spreading the talent. I would not be at all adverse to a SA man coming in as head coach/DR. Ludeke is worth trying. Certainly got a long and impressive coaching career at this level…..149 games in SR, then Japan, 30 years experience. And Ulster’s ledger of successful SA coaches and players is on the positive side. Is talk of Ruan Pienaar interested in coming back as a coach…..could be a good combination with Ludeke. And Pienaar and family would have no settling in to do, one would judge. He loved life in Ulster when there, by all reports.
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