Saturday, 7 December 2013

Rest will cure injuries, says England rugby union players" chief


By

Sam Peters




PUBLISHED:


22:30, 7 December 2013




|

UPDATED:


00:10, 8 December 2013



The England rugby players’ union chief has called for an agreement guaranteeing enforced rest periods following the latest injury crisis to engulf the England squad.


Former international Damian Hopley, chief executive of the Rugby Players’ Association, believes the spate of injuries — in which eight of Stuart Lancaster’s Elite Player Squad have emerged as major Six Nations doubts — will keep happening if urgent action is not taken.


Players have an agreement that they should be given 11 weeks off between seasons, but it is not legally binding and is regularly flouted.


Pile up: England players, like the injured Christian Wade, need more rest according to players chief Damian Hopley


Pile up: England players, like the injured Christian Wade, need more rest according to players chief Damian Hopley



The consequences look certain to impact on England’s 2015 World Cup bid.


Hopley said: ‘Everyone is great at writing agreements but, when it comes to sticking to them, the old  self-interest gene kicks in.


‘Whether it’s on the union side or club side, there is always someone trying to bend the rules a bit, or certainly push the envelope.


‘Looking at our North American counterparts [in the NFL] or indeed our Australasian counterparts, they have everything locked down into agreement which is legally binding and prescriptive for the  right reasons.


‘This is about recognising, especially after a Lions tour, that there needs to be a minimum stand-down period. Some players were back in contact three-and-a-half weeks after the Lions played their final Test match.’


Worry: Ben Foden (above) and Will Fraser (below) are two others on the absent list for Stuart Lancaster


Worry: Ben Foden (above) and Will Fraser (below) are two others on the absent list for Stuart Lancaster



Worry: Ben Foden (above) and Will Fraser (below) are two others on the absent list for Stuart Lancaster


Last week, Wasps winger Christian Wade became the seventh England player who toured with the Lions to be ruled out after undergoing surgery on an ankle problem which could see him miss the rest of the season.


‘You can’t keep going back to the well and expect the players to produce,’ said Hopley.


‘Watching that Lions tour in the summer and even watching England in the autumn, time and again they are being asked to raise their  game and improve. And they do.


‘But there has to be recourse for that. It’s nigh on impossible to expect our best players to peak for 30 weeks a season. Olympians peak for one event every four years. Our guys are going through it week in and week out with all the training and everything else that goes with it.



‘The game is almost unrecognisable from five years ago, in terms of the collisions’: Tell that to Wade (above) and Marlande Yarde (below)




‘The game is almost unrecognisable from five years ago, in terms of the collisions.’


A total of 14 players have retired this season and RPA statistics show an 83 per cent increase in injury-enforced retirements over the past three years.


Hopley said: ‘People are in a great position, but we believe there  are small tweaks that could be made which would give significant benefits to players, coaches and fans.


‘We all want our best players playing week in, week out, for as many years as possible.’








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Article source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/club/10500663/Alternative-Heineken-Cup-plans-will-be-drawn-up-shortly-says-Premiership-Rugby-chief-executive-Mark-McCafferty.html


Rest will cure injuries, says England rugby union players" chief
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