Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
NZ NZ

We still need details from Genge but RPA deserves more credit - Andy Goode

By Andy Goode
(Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

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.

ADVERTISEMENT

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.

six nations hopley
Damian Hopley, chief executive of the Rugby Players Association.

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.

ADVERTISEMENT

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.

ADVERTISEMENT
Ellie Genge trains
Ellis Genge looks on during an England training session at the World Cup in Japan (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

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!

ADVERTISEMENT

Join free

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | Episode 6

Sam Warburton | The Big Jim Show | Full Episode

Japan Rugby League One | Sungoliath v Eagles | Full Match Replay

Japan Rugby League One | Spears v Wild Knights | Full Match Replay

Boks Office | Episode 10 | Six Nations Final Round Review

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | How can New Zealand rugby beat this Ireland team

Beyond 80 | Episode 5

Rugby Europe Men's Championship Final | Georgia v Portugal | Full Match Replay

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

J
Jon 3 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

35 Go to comments
j
john 6 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

28 Go to comments
A
Adrian 8 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

28 Go to comments
T
Trevor 11 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

21 Go to comments
FEATURE
FEATURE Juan Ignacio Brex: 'Italy made history, but it's not enough' Juan Ignacio Brex: 'Italy made history, but it's not enough'
Search