Ethan Waller, the Worcester prop who, at 28, has just become chairman of the Rugby Players' Association, tells NEALE HARVEY why he has taken on the role and offers his views on the state of the game at a crucial juncture.
When and why did you become involved in the RPA initially?
When I was at Northampton, Christian Day was chairman of the RPA and he was always very passionate about his work. After I joined Worcester, he thought I'd make a good players' rep and I jumped on his advice and got on the RPA board for the 2018/19 season. This is my third year on the board and being on it during the pandemic has been an eye-opening experience, which is one of the reasons I wanted to become chairman.
You couldn't possibly have anticipated the year you've just had?
Absolutely not. Initially, I thought the RPA role at Worcester was a good chance to learn about how the game worked and, hopefully, have a positive impact on the player welfare side of things, but that's never been as prevalent as it has been over the last 12 months. The game's always had areas to improve upon, even pre-Covid, but player welfare is a huge priority at this point.
How was your experience of thrust into flashpoint discussions over wage cuts and potential job losses?
We had regular meetings as a players' board, updating each other on what our respective clubs were up to and how negotiations were going. I thought the RPA were fantastic in presenting each club with independent legal advice on what our rights were because, as you can imagine, it was quite a sensitive situation on both sides. While my involvement with the entire Premiership wasn't massive, as a collective we were doing a lot of talking to the Premiership board and ensuring we had a voice on that. Most of my work was done on individual negotiations with Worcester. It was myself and a senior group of players conducting negotiations with the owners and the process went on for some time, but when it eventually came out it was a pretty amicable settlement between us all. The best bit of advice I received in that time was that a good negotiation should leave both sides feeling slightly uncomfortable because at least you then know there's been real compromise at each end to achieve the best result. I feel we got that.
How do you feel Worcester have come through it?
Our owners, Colin Goldring and Jason Whittingham, were adamant that they wanted everything sorted before the Premiership resumed last August and they were always up front and honest about what was going on and showing us their plans. They've got some great plans for Worcester and it's clear they want the club to succeed. From the moment they got everything sorted out with us last summer, it's not really been brought up again, which is testament to how the club's being run. If we can start getting crowds back in mid-May, that would be massive for us now.
What has been the reaction of the RPA and players to suspending Premiership relegation this season?
As a players' board, we spoke about this as it was going through the discussion process and we had our representative on that game board (RFU Council). We actually abstained from the eventual vote because as a membership it was a fairly split opinion. Look, I can understand why the decision has been made because with the way the pandemic has been and the way safety has been paramount, which is why games have been cancelled if there's been any risk and points have been awarded, it has been a very strange year. We'll see what happens at the end of this season and how next season moves forward, but our focus at the RPA now is to make sure that the structure of next season is done as intelligently and as amicably as possible to ensure it's still safe. With the extra league games that will be played, player welfare cannot be sacrificed as a result.
What do you think of the notion that the Premiership might increase to 14 teams for 2022/23 with the Premiership Cup becoming a midweek development comp?
There's always going to be calls for a development competition of some sort but what that looks like, I couldn't tell you. I'm sure there'll be something and if we do end up going to 14 teams the year after, the players' voice must be heard on it.
Can you understand why BT Sport are feeling miffed at the prospect of losing the relegation narrative, maybe even for three or four years?
Certainly. A large proportion of the money that comes into sport is from the viewership. However, since the decision over relegation was made there's been some very exciting rugby played and I don't think the quality of the games will necessarily suffer. If you're an avid rugby viewer, you'll always want to watch those good battles, regardless of who's playing.
What does it mean for the future of aspirational clubs and players in the Championship?
The Championship is a great competition and I learnt a lot of my trade at Moseley when they were in it a few years ago. It's a great league that definitely serves a purpose and it should 100 per cent continue in a competitive format. I've got quite a few friends playing in the Championship and I don't believe the door is closed on them by any stretch. Going forwards into next year will be very much off the back of two pandemic-affected seasons and while what happens after that is anybody's guess at this point, I don't think that door will be closed to a team that has aspirations to go up into the Premiership.
It's an endless question, but why aren't Championship players embraced more by the RPA and properly represented?
The team that comes down from the Championship remains part of the RPA and something that is often discussed by the RPA board is how the Championship competition looks. It's got to be kept an eye on but it really does boil down to resources.
The hot topic right now is dementia, so what was your reaction to recent revelations from guys like Steve Thompson and Alix Popham that they're struggling?
Personally, it came as a shock. As rugby players, when you're in it you feel invincible until something happens and it's obviously a massive thing in the game. Professional rugby is still really in its infancy and there's not a lot of research on the long-term effects of head injuries, so this is probably the first time we're really seeing what that looks like. It's always been an area of improvement and it has been managed quite well recently – you've seen that in the sanctions around zero tolerance of contact to the head, which is correct. But vigilance needs to be increased and last week, we as an RPA set up a new Welfare Advisory Board (WAB) which has got a clear emphasis on building a network of resources for former and current players to educate them and do a lot of research into the long-term effects of brain injuries, preventative measures and support for players who need it, whether they're retired players or current players going through head traumas and getting back to playing. It's a real area of focus for us as a trade union.
What's the composition of that WAB and how quickly will it be fully active?
The board will be made up of current and former players, along with medical experts, and will basically be a task force based on research. We've got good dialogue going with the governing bodies and when it comes to something as important as this, it's important we've got the best information and people involved. We've passed it as a board and are just finalising the members, so hopefully within a couple of weeks we'll have it all sorted and can kick-on.
James Haskell and his Progressive Rugby group came out recently to demand reductions in contact training, are his initiatives and objectives something you support?
You can't really see a negative with more than one person or group working towards a collective goal, so any sort of backing we get is brilliant because it highlights areas that need looking at, not just in the professional game but at grassroots level as well where the education might not necessarily be as strong on head knocks and concussion. Having guys like James spreading the message that things need to change and ensure this is regulated properly can only be a positive.
How has player welfare changed in your ten years as a pro?
A lot! Players obviously want to play and push through an injury, but the education has become so much better and there are courses that every professional player has to do each season now to ensure you've got a good level of knowledge on concussion and how it can affect you. As players at this level, you're naturally as competitive as possible and you don't want to give opportunities for someone to steal your shirt or appear to be letting your teammates down, but it's also about knowing the impacts different injuries can have on your long-term health and I think there's a lot more onus on players now to remove themselves from games or training.
Similarly, if players see signs in colleagues that something's not quite right, you'll see them being removed from the pitch far more often than they used to be.
The pandemic has caused upheaval in many squads, with out- of- contract players finding it far more difficult to find new teams. How much does that concern you?
It's very difficult at the moment. With the financial side of things and with the salary cap being reduced, it does leave that middle ground of players in quite an awkward position. It's something that you don't want to see but that's where, from an RPA perspective, it's important there's legal support and also a huge emphasis on the personal development side of things. Last year's lockdown forced a lot of rugby players to seek new challenges elsewhere and it's encouraged a lot of people since then to get into education or find something outside rugby, which I think is massively important. It's going to be a huge focus for the RPA under my watch and players need to make sure that they've got something in the bank and that they're ready to move on if necessary.
“Worcester have a seriously talented squad… when we click we'll be very hard to beat”
You've developed your own pizza company, haven't you?
Indeed, I've had quite a year in every respect! I've got Slice, Slice Baby which is the mobile pizza trailer I own with my brother and we've been very busy with that. It really took off during lockdown last summer and exceeded our financial targets, while I'm also in the process of getting my qualifications to become a financial advisor. I'm finishing off a mathematics and physics degree with the Open University and I'm also in the process of opening a sandwich shop and deli in Worcester with our hooker, Niall Annett, so I'm firing on all cylinders at the moment. It's been a brilliant release from rugby and even though that's still your main job, we try to impress upon all the youngsters at Worcester that you need another string to your bow. Lynette Cutting, our education officer, is fantastic in that respect and a huge proportion of our lads are doing something outside rugby. It's all aimed at life beyond rugby – all it takes is one freak incident and that can be it.
With squad sizes likely to be cut again this summer, shouldn't we be placing further limits on the number of overseas players to prioritise homegrown lads?
I wouldn't say it's the most pressing issue at the moment. With the way the Premiership is managed around EQP numbers, I think that's a great way to go about it because the overseas players we have bring a lot to a squad in terms of developing younger players and looking at the game and style of rugby in a different way. If it was a one-sided view all the time, the game might become very boring and I think a lot of the overseas players add to it. Looking at my old club Northampton, for example, they had guys like Carlos Spencer and Bruce Reihana who inspired the younger players and brought a massive amount towards teaching people coming through. I don't think it's at saturation point at the moment and there's still a pretty good balance.
Finally, what about Worcester? It's been very frustrating reporting on the club for nearly two decades and never seeing them get out of the bottom four!
Believe me, I can tell you it's just as frustrating for us as it is for you and our supporters, but all I can say is I've been at this club since 2017 and it's in the best place it's been. The new coaching staff are brilliant and there's great impetus now under our head coach Jonathan Thomas. The detail of their work is fantastic and the way the culture of the club has been built is second to none. We have a great young captain in Ted Hill, who is being ably supported by senior guys like GJ Van Velze and Matt Moulds, and this is a seriously talented squad. When we click, we'll be very hard to beat, but as you saw in our recent matches against Exeter and Wasps, there are snapshot moments in games where we lose concentration, concede a couple of quick tries and end up losing narrowly. We're working so hard to eliminate that and get the result that will kick-start things and be the catalyst to jumping up the league. Look at Northampton, two months ago they couldn't buy a win, but then they beat us and now they're pushing for the top four again. We're so close to being that competitive side.
