The top rugby players of England of the season could down tools over the length and fixture congestion, this Damian Hopley the union boss has said.
After Joe Marler and Billy Vunipola who voiced their doubts over proposals to shove the Six Nations into six weeks, chief executive of Rugby Player’s Association Hopley is the latest one intervenes into the debate.
And, like Marler Vunipola, he also has not ruled out strike action should the bigwigs of sport opt to go in contradiction of the wishes of its stars.
On this in an interview with a newspaper Hopley said, “Strike action is the things that we cannot rule out. We are the union of players; our responsibility is to respond to what our members want. The fact is that at the present time, half of the England team is talking about this, and not prompted by us, they have sent a clear message to each stakeholder in the game about how seriously they are talking about it.
“As the responsible authority, we would work with the powers-that-be to try to get a way through. However, ultimately, if there is an angry group of players and they feel disenfranchised, then the choice is theirs.”
A number of players were hurt because of not being involved to consult on proposals that were presented to the Professional Game Board, few days’ back which suggested France and England should play on a rest weekend, reducing the length of the Six Nations.
Last week Vunipola explained why he is in the favor of fewer fixtures, less strain and larger squads at the present time. He said, ‘Something it is going to give, something might happen when we follow the NBA or NFL, where they had a lockout.