England player Ben Earl has called for a rethink of the “brutal” Nations Championship schedule that saw the team travel over 25,000 miles in July.
The tour finished on Saturday, July 18 with a win over Argentina after the team had travelled over three continents in successive weekends.
England currently sit third in the northern hemisphere table with 10 points, looking towards the competition’s final at the Allianz Stadium on November 29.
But four long-haul and four short-haul flights in under four weeks has prompted forward Earl to speak out about what he thinks is excessive travel for the games.
Brutal travel arrangements
Earl spoke about the difficult amount of travel that his team has endured, suggesting alternate ways to avoid so many flights.
He said: “It’s been brutal, there’s no two ways about it.
“We’ve been speaking about it – why would we not all be playing in one country?
“So you just don’t travel, you go to one nation and have that festival feel.
“You come to Australia, South Africa, wherever, and there’s so much rugby going on. How cool would that be?”
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Just the beginning
The England forward continued, saying his team might just have to get used to the busy schedule in the future.
He said: “I’m not paid to make those decisions but it has been tough.
“It’s been tough coming at the end of what’s been quite a long season anyway for most of us.
“It’s been back and forth, coming back to England, seeing your families and then going away again.
“It has seemed a bit weird, but it’s just something we’re going to have to get used to because I think it’s just the beginning.”
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