News

A qualified solicitor and former professional rugby player for Bath, Bridgend, Dragons, and Leeds Tykes, Richard Bryan joined the Rugby Players Association in 2011 from Clarke Willmott solicitors, where he had advised the RPA on legal matters. He initially worked as a Player Development Manager for the RPA and became Player Welfare Director in 2014, leading on player welfare and legal matters.

In this ‘Staff Spotlight’, Rich talks us through his experiences working at a Player Association and how he will use this in his new role as a PPF Director.

What led to your transition from player to Player Association staff?
I was in the first cohort of members when the RPA came to existence in 1998 and was a player rep when playing in Wales at a very political time when player representation was really significant after Celtic Warriors were put into liquidation. It fired my interest in Player Associations and then having done my legal training after rugby it was always my ambition to use those qualifications to add value to players so working at the RPA was really a dream role.

What did your experience as a player and then working outside the sport bring to the role?
As a player you have lived experiences of issues that occur, in my own case that involved losing my job, the politics of sport, contractual uncertainty and career ending injury whilst my legal skills really helped me with problem solving. I think it’s useful to have both former players and those from outside the sport working at Player Associations as that brings a different lens and diversity as one size doesn’t fit all particularly when it comes to developing one to one relationships.

What are the key developments you’ve seen in your time at the RPA?
I’m proud that the RPA has developed in many respects as the game has changed in terms of the way we do our work, our openness our transparency, our constitution changes so that all our member voices are heard even more across both the men and women’s game however our core principles have not changed, we are here to support, promote and protect our members. This is demonstrated by the RPA becoming signatories to the Men’s Professional Game Partnership with the RFU and Premiership Rugby in 2024, ensuring that the player’s voice is heard in all decisions affecting the men’s elite game and such developments are vital across both the men’s and women’s game.

What have been the biggest challenges?
My roles has extended with player welfare covering a broad range of issues beyond just legal support – brain health, medical issues, wellbeing, insurance, that’s what makes it such a great role. As an organisation we had to deal with the fall out from Covid with five clubs collapsing in one season and over 180 players losing their jobs. It was a huge task for the entire team who worked hard to ensure the best compensation for players. You never want that to occur but I was proud of how the team performed.

What do you think are the key characteristics you need to thrive at a Player Association?
You’ve got to be really good listener, non judgemental and a good problem solver. You don’t necessarily need vast experience working for associations but you need the ability to relate to players, a hard work ethic as it’s not nine to five and be able to think laterally and know when to call upon experts and others in the team to get the best result for players. It’s a multi-faceted role and you need to be able to hold your own in front of players when there may be difficult messages to convey so you also need grit and toughness but probably the most important thing is a good sense of humour! What I love about the role is it’s a joy to work with players as they tend to be good people.

What are you looking forward to in your role as PPF Director?
I’ve always worked closely with the PPF and its other members as there’s always strength in numbers when lobbying on behalf of players for example when we took a collaborative approach to secure tax benefits from the HMRC around testimonial matches or working with the Industrial Industries Advisory Council around brain health. Being able to share ideas, problems and solutions together is very important. I’m looking forward to bringing my experience in player welfare to the board and help identify key areas of risk to all athletes as the insights that player associations can gather is really important to help make sports safer for the players.

What key areas do you think you’ll be addressing?
I think expanding the players voice in the women’s game as well as the men’s and of course player welfare, in particular with brain health will be top of the agenda to ensure changes are made to make sport as safe as it can be, noting that there are always risks but we share that ambition with others in the PPF. Online abuse is also an area that the PPF can have a positive influence for change as is player workload across many sports and the impact on player wellbeing.

What is your key advice for anyone working for a Player Association?
Always remember why you’re doing the job, remember what is your ‘why’ because it is tough, sometimes you’ve got to take the harder path and be prepared for that. There’s no shame in asking are we doing the right thing? Always remember that you’re here to protect the players and if you keep that at the core of what you’re doing you won’t go far wrong.