Sam Warburton's three-point plan to make rugby safer

Writing for The Times , the former flanker has identified three ways of making the game safer for the players moving forward.

"I actually think the problem is a wider issue about the number of games played. I have always said that there should be a maximum of 25 matches a season for each player, including international games.

“It is true, as mentioned in the letter, that you don’t want to rock the boat while you are still playing. But I remember players saying that they would take pay cuts to play fewer games.

"That is why I am so adamant on less game time.”

Warburton explained that a two-tiered system with 12 English clubs and 12 sides from the other home nations, with sides playing each team in their division once, would mean clubs would only play 11 games - plus play-offs - a season.

"If you have the best possible product out there, then there will be less need for so many matches. You should be able to sell a better product more easily and therefore make more money.

"I just don’t think the leagues are structured properly. The truth is that we need a two-tier British and Irish league, but the problem is that the Welsh, Scots and Irish need the English a lot more than the English need them."

Warburton added that the idea of limiting the number of substitutions available in a match was “reasonable”, as he argued that larger, fresher players running into fatigued players could be dangerous.