Crusader Day on quest to give players more power
PLAYERS boss Christian Day has launched a crusade to modernise rugby by bridging the growing divide between players and the ‘suits’ who run the game.
Former Northampton lock Day, who retired last month to become player liaison officer for the Rugby Players’ Association, believes rugby lags a long way behind other professional sports in its player welfare and decisionmaking processes.
Day, 34, vows to give players a louder voice, telling
The Rugby Paper: “My role now is to make players more connected to how the game is run by the boardroom and suits.
“There’s a disconnect in rugby and we’re not as professional as some other sports, but hopefully that will process will speed up as the game moves on.
“The game’s in rude health in terms of the product and support, but you only have to look at America where the NFL is 50 years ahead of us in the way collective bargaining started in the Sixties and how controlled and professional everything is.
“NFL is incredibly well governed in everything it does and that’s what we must aspire to. It won’t happen overnight but if governing bodies involved players more, then we’re usually a reasonable bunch who will help to facilitate any changes.
“Rugby in England is a complex structure of clubs and the RFU, and players far too often sit in the middle and aren’t involved as much as they should be. But I’ll speak my mind and be an honest guy who tries to make sure the right things happen.”
With season structure, concussion and the future of 4G pitches featuring high on current agendas, Day, above, added: “There’s no bigger issue than season structure. It will govern the next five or six years for our players and we have to get this right.
“More and more is being asked of our Test players. They receive huge rewards but the season is awfully long and we must ensure they are not exploited.
“We’re still treating concussion very seriously but improvements will only flow from season structure and the game being more professional.”
With Wasps flanker Jack Willis seeing his England dreams evaporate after rupturing an ACL on Saracens’ 4G pitch last week, Day insists plastic pitches must go if recently commissioned studies prove they increase injury levels.
Day said: “Burns, cuts and grazes are nothing new, but the Jack Willis issue is much bigger. Until this season nothing had ever been shown to be different, but this year, for the first time, there has been shown to be elevated risk.
“It’s the RPA, RFU and Premiership Rugby’s responsibility to monitor how many of these injuries are happening and, ultimately, if it is an increased risk the answer will be they’ll have to go, but for the moment studies are ongoing.”
Meanwhile, Day makes no attempt to downplay his ambition to ascend rugby’s managerial ladder.
He explained: “That’s the end game. I’m at the bottom of the ladder now but I 100 per cent want to advance my career and hopefully that means I’ll eventually be the person making decisions.
“Whether that’s with the players’ association or another organisation, I don’t know, but I have a deep love of rugby and a love for rugby governance and there are things I can improve.”