The Rugby Players Association (RPA) is pleased to announce that Christian Day has been elected as the new General Secretary of the Trade Union.

Day will be responsible to the RPA Players Board and RPA Management Board through the RPA Chair and Chair of the Management Board. With 27.25% of the vote, he brings with him a wealth of experience having served as a member of the RPA Players’ Board since 2011, including three years as RPA Chairman from 2014 to 2017 to his now current role as the RPA’s Head of Player Affairs.

Through his time at the RPA, Day has led on and championed several welfare developments to have been directly actioned from our member’s feedback. 

These have included the creation of a free agent player list to help out of work rugby players to find new employment, lobbying for a World Rugby law change to enable players to wear leggings on artificial pitches, and campaigning for the evolution of scrum law to minimise axial loading. 

At the start of December, voting papers went out to all RPA members, and with 60% of the membership returning their ballot papers, it is a clear indication how valuable players feel their voice is in the future decision making of the RPA. 

Christian Day, RPA Head of Player Affairs and the new General Secretary said: “I am hugely honoured and humbled to be appointed as the RPA’s new General Secretary and am grateful that it is the players themselves who felt me the right person for the role. 
 
Rugby Union has faced many difficult challenges in recent times. But I truly believe that there is a great opportunity for positive change for our sport with the players both respected and valued as partners at its centre. 
 
To the players themselves, both men and women, now is the time to unite as a collective and ensure that the players voice is at the forefront of the RPA. It is your voice that should guide the union towards its future vision.”

Judith Batchelar OBE, Chair of the RPA Management Board, said: “I am pleased that a robust and democratic election process, with an impressive turnout, has chosen a new General Secretary for our Players Union.  I would like to congratulate Christian on achieving this mandate from his fellow players. I know how committed he is to ensuring that our members play a key role in driving the changes in the game that are needed to enable rugby to thrive at all levels in the future. I am looking forward to working with Christian to support him in that vision. It has been a tough year for many players, but the RPA has been there to support those individuals when they needed it most and we will continue to do this and much more under Christians Leadership.”

Ethan Waller, Chair of the RPA Players Board, said: “I am delighted to welcome Christian as our new General Secretary. I have been fortunate to know Christian for a number of years, and it is clear that Player welfare has always been top of his priority list, not just during his role at the RPA but throughout his playing career too. I’m excited to work with him in what is a pivotal time for the RPA, and the players voice as a whole, as we work towards our goal becoming meaningful partners in the game. I’d also like to take this opportunity to say a massive thank you to Judith Batchelar for all her hard work leading the RPA during this transition period.”

We would like to congratulate all five candidates who stood for the role, the breakdown of percentage of votes are as follows:

READ THE INDEPENDENT SCRUTINEER'S REPORT HERE