England’s Test stars will split from the Rugby Players Association at the end of the season to negotiate their own deals with the RFU.
The RPA have brokered deals for England’s players on fees and commercial rights with the RFU for the last 20 years.
But now the players will move to a newly-formed body to negotiate their deals with the RFU, which will include direct season-long pay for the first time.
England players have been craving more control over their financial arrangements with the RFU for some time and have now voted to break away from RPA representation.
Bristol prop Ellis Genge spoke in 2020 about looking into the players setting up their own agency, but that specific endeavour cooled amid the Covid pandemic.
Now, though, the players have opted to break new ground in a bid for more control and influence on their own affairs.
Saracens hooker Jamie George insisted straight after England’s third-place play-off win at the World Cup that England’s players wanted a stronger voice in negotiations with the RFU — and now the players have moved to act in stepping away from the RPA.
The RFU will award as many as 25 hybrid contracts for top Test stars from next season, with Saracens pair Maro Itoje and George the first two to accept deals for next term.
The RPA will still represent the England players on club matters and will continue to look after all professionals in the domestic game.
In a statement, the RPA said: “[We] are disappointed to announce that Team England have chosen to end the RPA’s status as exclusive commercial representatives at the end of the current agreement in June 2024.
“The RPA have proudly represented the England men’s squad since 2004, consistently positioning them as the best-rewarded in global rugby union. We will continue to support, promote and protect all elite players in the English game via RPA representation, including those selected to play for the England men’s side.”
England’s rugby landscape is due for a big shift again this summer, when the new Professional Game Partnership (PGP) will come into force.
The hybrid contracts for top England players will form a key part of that agreement between the RFU and Premiership clubs.
The details of that PGP are still being thrashed out, but the RFU will pay as many as 25 players up to £150,000 each per season in funds to sit on top of their club salaries.
The RFU will gain more access and control to England’s players than ever before as a result.
Both the RFU and Premiership chiefs hope the move to two-tier contracts will help keep more top talent on home soil amid the lure of more lucrative deals on offer overseas.
A recently-retired Test player could be handed a figurehead role to conduct negotiations on the England players’ behalf.
