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Ellis Genge shelves plans for new Rugby Players Epoch union

(Photo by Adam Davy/PA Images via Getty Images)

Ellis Genge has put plans for the new players union, Rugby Players Epoch, on ice after becoming disillusioned with the laborious challenge of having to individually negotiate with all 13 stakeholder Premiership clubs. The England and Leicester prop generated headlines in April with his idea to form a fresh union separate from the existing Rugby Players’ Association.

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His ambitions secured the support of 128 players but the method of negotiation proved unwieldy and he has now sidelined hopes for his planned organisation to become a fresh new voice in the game. 

Amid reported chaos at Premiership clubs where negotiations are taking place to make the temporary 25 per cent Covid-19 wage cuts permanent, Genge and Leicester teammate Greg Bateman were told in a meeting held virtually with Premiership Rugby Limited’s Darren Childs and Phil Winstanley that they would have to negotiate with all clubs individually rather than bargain collectively. 

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That stumbling block meant sidelining Rugby Players Epoch, the union that would have taken one per cent of a player’s salary as its annual membership fee. 

“In two years’ time, if boys turn around and say, ‘F****** hell, they took 25 per cent of our wages and we couldn’t do anything about it,’ it will be a case of ‘you could have (done), you just didn’t want to’. Well, 128 people did and the rest of them didn’t,” Genge told the House of Rugby podcast. 

“(RPE) is not happening at the moment. If we find an opportunity to kick-start it again, then we will. For the time being, it’s a case of (players) dealing with their club independently.

“It’s the people who have literally thrown all their eggs into one basket and (clubs) are like: ‘Right, 25 per cent less’. It could be 50 per cent less. (Clubs) can do whatever they want. They can end your contract at any time.”

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PRL clubs voted last week to reduce the salary cap by £1.4million, bringing it down £5m for the 2021/22 season. In that, a loophole was created whereby only 75 per cent of existing contracts would count towards that revised cap if a pay cut was agreed by June 18.  

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Bull Shark 4 hours ago
Rassie Erasmus' Boks selection policy is becoming bizarre

To be fair, the only thing that drives engagement on this site is over the top critiques of Southern Hemisphere teams.


Or articles about people on podcasts criticizing southern hemisphere teams.


Articles regarding the Northern Hemisphere tend to be more positive than critical. I guess to also rile up kiwis and Saffers who seem to be the majority of followers in the comments section. There seems to be a whole department dedicated to Ireland’s world ranking news.


Despite being dialled into the Northern edition - I know sweet fokall about what’s going on in France.


And even less than fokall about what’s cutting in Japan - which has a fast growing, increasingly premium League competition emerging.


And let’s not talk about the pacific. Do they even play rugby Down there.


Oh and the Americas. I’ve read more articles about a young, stargazing Welshman’s foray into NFL than I have anything related to either the north and south continents of the Americas.


I will give credit that the women’s game is getting decent airtime. But for the rest and the above; it’s just pathetic coming from a World Rugby website.


Just consider the innovation emerging in Japan with the pedigree of coaches over there.


There’s so much good we could be reading.


Instead it’s unimaginative “critical for the sake of feigning controversial”. Which is lazy, because in order to pull that off all you need to be really good at is:


1. Being a doos;

2. Having an opinion.


No prior experience needed.


Which is not journalism. That’s like all or most of us in the comments section. People like Finn (who I believe is a RP contributor).


Anyway. Hopefully it will get better. The game is growing and the interest in the game is growing. Maybe it will attract more qualified journalists over time.

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