RFU to introduce in-season breaks for players
October 23, 2018 14:55 MYT
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) will introduce in-season breaks to the Premiership for the next three seasons as part of an initiative to improve player welfare.
The measures are designed to protect players during a schedule that includes the 2019 Rugby World Cup and the 2021 British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa.
Players who feature at the World Cup will be rested for Tests in July 2020 – unless they have had 20 or fewer match involvements in the prior season – and England's Lions representatives will get a two-and-a-half-month break and a rest week during the following November internationals.
A panel has been created to monitor and ensure compliance with the new principles.
The key announcements include:
- Guaranteed in-season breaks for players in each of the three seasons
Rugby Players' Association (RPA) chief executive Damian Hopley said in a statement: "This new agreement gives players guaranteed in-season breaks for the first time and reduces playing thresholds, while protecting the five-week post-season break that was already in place.
"The creation of the Professional Game Panel will also provide rigour and governance to ensure player welfare is protected as the absolute priority in English rugby."