Hartley not consulted about plans to extend the season
Dylan Hartley, the England captain, became the latest front-line figure to state that player welfare is the game’s most pressing issue when he said: “The general feeling is that an extended season is not welcome.”
It was clear from several testimonies given by captains and coaches present at the launch of the 2017-18 European Champions Cup that very few at the sharp end of the game have been consulted over plans to put in place an 11-month season from 2019-20. Hartley (pictured right) apologised for his own
ignorance on the subject but explained that he did not know quite what was going on.
It is a startling oversight from the sport’s administrators that the views of the England captain have not been sought and Hartley himself accepted that “maybe we need to do that”, when asked if it would be a good idea if a core of senior England players got together to act as a sounding board.
The Northampton hooker, who has a 50-50 chance of returning this weekend from a
swollen hand injury that has kept him out of action, did recognise the importance of the subject.
“Player welfare is paramount and if there were to be more games, then player welfare could fall on to the back burner,” said Hartley. “We didn’t talk about it [at the England camp] in Oxford but maybe we should do that [as a group]. We didn’t have time to talk about it in Oxford and we don’t hold team meetings about player
welfare, extended seasons or stuff like that.
“I don’t know where the discussions are or what’s happening. Maybe I should know more. I do need to educate myself but I’m not sure where the information is. I can see both sides and I do think it’s more than just about international players.
“Maybe the Premiership captains should get together. I do have a responsibility as a player to voice an opinion but so do the other guys. The general feeling is that an extended season is not welcome.
“The season is relentless and there is always another big game round the corner. As I said, player
welfare is paramount, mental and physical. As long as that is taken into consideration.”
The lack of communication extends to several directors of rugby. Jim Mallinder, at Hartley’s club, also feels comparatively in the dark.
“We have only got vague details,” he said. “My main concern would be extending the season. As players, coaches, staff, you need to stop at some stage and say, ‘This is the end of the season, this is when you can relax and recover’. It’s fine to say to players to have a week off here or there in the season but, actually, you don’t properly have time off. You really need a proper block of time off to recover.”
Mike Brown, the Harlequins and England full-back, is to undergo a scan on a niggling ankle injury that was initially damaged against Wasps, but which flared up again following last weekend’s match against Leicester.
John Kingston, the Quins’ director of rugby, has pleaded with England coach Eddie Jones for his 18-year-old fly-half, Marcus Smith, to be given time to settle down to the demands of first-class rugby and believes he is not ready yet to play at Test level. “I would be very surprised if Eddie believes Marcus is ready to play international rugby in the near future and he has intimated that,” Kingston said.