My new dawn: increase squad size, cut salaries

What I’m about to suggest will be seen by some as barking mad, but bear with me.

- COLIN BOAG

My suggestion is that the Premiership should set a minimum squad size, and it should be higher than it was before this crisis started, say at 55 players. Alongside that, I would reduce the salary cap, and, as soon as is contractually possible, remove the option to have ‘marquee’ players.

We have been hearing for years about player welfare, but the reality is that too often these have been weasel words. As the clubs start what will inevitably be a lengthy and difficult recovery, they are going to want to play more rugby than ever in order to generate as much cash as possible, and if we truly believe in player welfare, that means bigger squads.

Those clubs that survive – which hopefully will be all 13 – will inevitably be looking inwards at what they can do to steady the ship, and the answer must surely be to focus on English players rather than foreign imports. My lockdown reading last week was Ben Mercer’s excellent book, Fringes, which focuses on his experience of playing in France once he found that life in the Championship for a fringe player was very uncomfortable.