# Rugby Players' Association

The Rugby Players' Association (RPA) is a trade union representing elite rugby rugby union players in England. The RPA is the representative body and collective voice of elite rugby players in England and represents more than 600 male and female current rugby players, as well as more than 100 former players.

## Overview

RPA members qualify for a wide range of benefits, including: independent representation; legal advice; personal and professional development; playing insurance; education; confidential counselling; transition support; and more. Members can also access the support of a charity, Restart, in the event of serious illness, injury or hardship.
The RPA was founded by professional player Damian Hopley, who was forced to early retirement after an injury.
The RPA announced that Hopley was to leave the organisation after 24 years in charge of the company. His last day was on Monday 15 August, with a visit to Wasps.
On 16 January 2023, it was announced that Christian Day, was elected the new General Secretary of the RPA, following an election to the membership.
In September 2024, the RPA released its' first ever Impact Report. It showcased impact of the work that we have delivered for the rugby eco-system in support of our members.

## Current board

The following rugby union professionals playing in England make up the current RPA Players' Board, as of the 2024-25 season.
| Role | Player | Team |
| Chair | Ruaridh McConnonchie | Bath Rugby (men) |
| Vice-chair | Freddie Clarke | Gloucester Rugby (men) |
| Board Member | Sarah Bern | England Women |
| Board Member | Brett Connon | Newcastle Falcons (men) |
| Board Member | Heather Cowell | Great Britain 7s (women) |
| Board Member | Tom Emery | Great Britain 7s (men) |
| Board Member | Will Evans | Harlequins (men) |
| Board Member | Emmanuel Iyogun | Northampton Saints (men) |
| Board Member | Max Lahiff | Bristol Bears (men) |
| Board Member | Simon McIntyre | Sale Sharks (men) |
| Board Member | Stuart Townsend | Exeter Chiefs (men) |
| Board Member | Ivan van Zyl | Saracens (men) |
| Board Member | Harry Wells | Leicester Tigers (men) |

## Awards

The following have been recognised at the annual RPA Awards, as voted on by professional rugby union players in England, since 2010:
Players' Player of the Year :
| Year | Player | Team |
| 2010 | Schalk Brits | Saracens |
| 2011 | Thomas Waldrom | Leicester |
| 2012 | Nick Evans | Harlequins |
| 2013 | Christian Wade | Wasps |
| 2014 | Vereniki Goneva | Leicester |
| 2015 | Jonathan Joseph | Bath |
| 2016 | George Smith | Wasps |
| 2017 | Jimmy Gopperth | Wasps |
| 2018 | Telusa Veainu | Leicester |
| 2019 | Danny Cipriani | Gloucester |
| 2020 | Jack Willis | Wasps |
| 2021 | Sam Simmonds | Exeter |
| 2022 | André Esterhuizen | Harlequins |
| 2023 | Jasper Wiese | Leicester |
| 2024 | Fin Smith | Northampton |
Young Player of the Year :
| Year | Player | Team |
| 2010 | Ben Youngs | Leicester |
| 2011 | Manu Tuilagi | Leicester |
| 2012 | Owen Farrell | Saracens |
| 2013 | Christian Wade | Wasps |
| 2014 | George Ford | Bath |
| 2015 | Henry Slade | Exeter |
| 2016 | Maro Itoje | Saracens |
| 2017 | Zach Mercer | Bath |
| 2018 | Marcus Smith | Harlequins |
| 2019 | Ollie Thorley | Gloucester |
| 2020 | Louis Rees-Zammit | Gloucester |
| 2021 | Marcus Smith | Harlequins |
| 2022 | Freddie Steward | Leicester |
| 2023 | Tom Pearson | London Irish |
| 2024 | Immanuel Feyi-Waboso | Exeter |
England 15s Player of the Year :
| Year | Men | Women |
| 2013 | Joe Launchbury | Emily Scarratt |
| 2014 | Mike Brown | Rachael Burford |
| 2015 | Jonathan Joseph | Rocky Clark |
| 2016 | Billy Vunipola | Sarah Hunter |
| 2017 | Owen Farrell | Tamara Taylor |
| 2018 | Mako Vunipola | Danielle Waterman |
| 2019 | Jonny May | Sarah Bern |
| 2020 | Tom Curry | Zoe Aldcroft |
| 2021 | Tom Curry (2) | Poppy Cleall |
| 2022 | Freddie Steward | Marlie Packer |
| 2023 | Freddie Steward (2) | Sadia Kabeya |
| 2024 | Ben Earl | Alex Matthews |
England 7s Player of the Year :
| Year | Men | Women |
| 2012 | Mathew Turner | Not awarded |
| 2013 | Dan Norton | Not awarded |
| 2014 | Tom Mitchell | Not awarded |
| 2015 | Alex Gray | Not awarded |
| 2016 | Dan Bibby | Not awarded |
| 2017 | Richard de Carpentier | Not awarded |
| 2018 | Ruaridh McConnochie | Alex Matthews |
| 2019 | Will Muir | Alex Matthews (2) |
| 2020 | Ben Harris | Megan Jones |
Special Merit Award (2010–15) :
| Year | Player | Team |
| 2010 | Simon Shaw | Wasps |
| 2011 | Danny Grewcock | Bath |
| 2012 | Hugh Vyvyan | Saracens |
| 2013 | Geordan Murphy | Leicester |
| 2014 | Steve Borthwick | Saracens |
| 2015 | Mark Cueto | Sale |
Special Merit Award (2016–21) :
| Year | Player | Team |
| 2016 | Charlie Hodgson | Saracens |
| 2017 | Nick Easter | Harlequins |
| 2018 | Ian Robertson | Not applicable |
| 2019 | Mathew Tait | Not applicable |
| 2020 | Richard Wigglesworth | Saracens |
| 2021 | Ben Youngs | Leicester |
Special Merit Award (2022–) :
| Year | Player | Team |
| 2022 | Danny Care | Harlequins |
| 2023 | Dan Cole | Leicester |
| 2023 | Owen Farrell | Saracens |
| 2023 | Emily Scarratt | Loughborough (W) |
| 2024 | Marlie Packer | Saracens (W) |
| 2024 | Alex Waller | Northampton |

### 15 Under 23

The following teams represent the 15 Under 23, consisting of the top players in England aged 23 and under, as selected by voters, each year since 2022:
| | 2021–22 | 2021–22 | 2022–23 | 2022–23 | 2023–24 | 2023–24 |
| No. | Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team |
| 1. | Bevan Rodd | Sale | Bevan Rodd | Sale | Fin Baxter | Harlequins |
| 2. | Nic Dolly | Leicester | Theo Dan | Saracens | Theo Dan | Saracens |
| 3. | Joe Heyes | Leicester | Joe Heyes | Leicester | Asher Opoku-Fordjour | Sale |
| 4. | Nick Isiekwe | Saracens | George Martin | Leicester | Dafydd Jenkins | Exeter |
| 5. | Ollie Chessum | Leicester | Hugh Tizard | Saracens | Ollie Chessum | Leicester |
| 6. | Ben Earl | Saracens | Ted Hill | Bath | Chandler Cunningham-South | Harlequins |
| 7. | Tom Pearson | London Irish | Tom Pearson | London Irish | Guy Pepper | Newcastle |
| 8. | Fitz Harding | Bristol | Fitz Harding | Bristol | Ross Vintcent | Exeter |
| 9. | Harry Randall | Bristol | Gus Warr | Sale | Jack van Poortvliet | Leicester |
| 10. | Marcus Smith | Harlequins | Fin Smith | Northampton | Fin Smith | Northampton |
| 11. | Ollie Hassell-Collins | London Irish | Cadan Murley | Harlequins | Immanuel Feyi-Waboso | Exeter |
| 12. | Dan Kelly | Leicester | Seb Atkinson | Gloucester | Max Ojomoh | Bath |
| 13. | Fraser Dingwall | Northampton | Ollie Lawrence | Bath | Oscar Beard | Harlequins |
| 14. | Louis Rees-Zammit | Gloucester | Mateo Carreras | Newcastle | Tommy Freeman | Northampton |
| 15. | Freddie Steward | Leicester | Joe Carpenter | Sale | Josh Hodge | Exeter |

## Hall of Fame

The following players, coaches, officials, administrators and commentators have been inducted into the RPA Hall of Fame:
| Year | Inductee |
| 1999 | Michael Lynagh |
| 2000 | Cliff Morgan |
| 2000 | Peter Winterbottom |
| 2001 | Willie John McBride |
| 2001 | Philippe Sella |
| 2002 | Dean Richards |
| 2002 | John Rutherford |
| 2003 | Gerald Davies |
| 2003 | Tim Horan |
| 2003 | Peter Wheeler |
| Year | Inductee |
| 2004 | Zinzan Brooke |
| 2004 | Gavin Hastings |
| 2005 | Sir Gareth Edwards |
| 2005 | Sean Fitzpatrick |
| 2006 | David Duckham |
| 2006 | Mike Gibson |
| 2006 | Sir Ian McGeechan |
| 2007 | Martin Johnson |
| 2008 | Richard Hill |
| 2008 | Jason Leonard |
| Year | Inductee |
| 2009 | Fran Cotton |
| 2009 | Jeremy Guscott |
| 2010 | Bill McLaren |
| 2011 | Lawrence Dallaglio |
| 2012 | Jason Robinson |
| 2013 | Ieuan Evans |
| 2014 | Jonathan Davies |
| 2015 | Jonny Wilkinson |
| 2016 | Brian O'Driscoll |
| 2017 | Dan Carter |
| Year | Inductee |
| 2018 | Sir Clive Woodward |
| 2020 | Sir Bill Beaumont |
| 2021 | Rocky Clark |
| 2021 | Alun Wyn Jones |
| 2022 | Katy Daley-McLean |
| 2023 | Sarah Hunter |
| 2023 | Doddie Weir |
| 2024 | Courtney Lawes |