London ¨C England prop Ellis Genge has called for a new, more independent players¡¯ union amid dissatisfaction among fellow professionals about how pay cuts as a result of the new coronavirus pandemic have been handled by clubs and rugby authorities.
Genge said the Rugby Players¡¯ Association (RPA), founded in 1998, is reluctant to ¡°bite the hand that feeds¡± as it receives funding from the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and Premiership Rugby (PRL) and players got a raw deal over recent pay cuts.
¡°I do feel people were poorly advised (about wage reductions), people were advised from the off to sign the contracts without reading them, almost,¡± he told the BBC¡¯s Rugby Union Weekly podcast.
¡°Commercially, I didn¡¯t think everyone was being represented very well,¡± the 25-year-old explained, adding that he did not want to replace the RPA.
Capped 18 times by his country, Genge took legal advice after being asked to take a 25 percent pay reduction by his club Leicester Tigers, and the issue has since been resolved.
¡°I¡¯ve had a lot of friends in rugby come to me and say: ¡¯I¡¯ve been stitched up with this, or I¡¯ve been shafted with this, or I don¡¯t know how to approach this.¡¯¡± he said.
¡°I¡¯ve thought to myself, why don¡¯t we have another union the boys can independently contact?
¡°I do think it is time to shake up the rugby scene, and look after players, commercially, and in every aspect, a lot better,¡± Genge added.
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