Joe Marler has revealed he has been appointed to lead discussions between the Rugby Football Union and Premiership clubs over the welfare of England players, claiming the Test star has been “neglected” so far. .
Marler, who ended his career with England at the autumn internationals and retired permanently in November, has been appointed to a new role as performance director for England Rugby.
Much of Marler's focus will be on players exceeding their maximum game time limit, limited to 30 games, as part of the Pro Game Partnership that took effect this season.
With the British & Irish Lions touring Australia this summer, a number of England players are set to go over the limit, with Marler saying “a huge number of players will need exemptions to continue playing''. expressing concern. It will be up to Marler to negotiate these exemptions and ensure that the players get plenty of rest going forward.
Suggests that some players may be too scared to talk to DoR [directors of rugby]' Marler told the 'For the Love of Rugby' podcast that he is building relationships with Premiership clubs to 'take the pressure off the players', and has already confirmed that Nick Isikwe's game time has been linked to Saracens. He explained that he had been in discussions with Mark McCall, Director of Rugby.
“The boys needed long-term care,” he said. “In the previous national team we weren't taken into account. So we went, yeah, we're setting up this Team England Rugby. We're moving away from the previous representation. And We're going to control it.
“We expected that there would be a significant number of exemptions needed, particularly for top players who play for England and are consistently in the play-offs with their clubs, whether it's in Europe or the play-offs. They're definitely going to be over the top. Can we stop them from playing the preseason games? Give them a longer break? please stop getting involved [Premiership games]? ”
Marler was one of five players to lead the England rugby team in contract negotiations with England this season, along with captain Jamie George, Maro Itoje, Ellis Genge and Anthony Watson. When the deal was announced in October, players said they had expressed “huge concerns” about the workload with the RFU. Marler's appointment was made to address some of those concerns, after George insisted there was a “need to consider” introducing player welfare protocols specific to England players.
After newsletter promotion
Mr. Marler said: “It sounds classy and official, but it basically has the backing of the England Rugby team, who do a lot of the administrative work, the conversations between the DoR, the clubs and the RFU, and the management and welfare issues. It's about making sure they feel supported in their decisions.''There were injuries, they were consulted about things and it was done the right way.
“The important thing is to build relationships. [with the DoRs] It takes the pressure off players to have conversations when the end of a campaign is near and people need a break. There are a lot of young boys in the team who would be too scared to talk to the DoR unless they were judged to be lax or told, 'We're paying you, keep doing your job.' . ”
