Earl criticises Nations Championship travel demands
Ben Earl's criticism of England's 25,000-mile July itinerary highlights a structural flaw in the new tournament that pits global expansion against player welfare.
England forward Ben Earl has criticised the "brutal" logistical demands of the new Nations Championship after his side completed a punishing global schedule. England played three Tests across three different continents on successive weekends, travelling 25,000 miles in July alone.
Steve Borthwick's team ended this itinerary with a 31-34 victory over Argentina in Santiago del Estero on Saturday. The win keeps England in sight of a place in the inaugural final at Allianz Stadium on November 29.
However, the result was achieved under severe physical strain. Players were sleep-deprived and limited to a reduced training schedule to recover from travel and time differences. England faced the toughest itinerary of any nation this month, requiring four long-haul and four short-haul flights in just under four weeks.
The burden fell disproportionately on British and Irish Lions players like Earl, Ellis Genge and Ollie Chessum, who also toured Australia last summer. The results of this July stretch were a 45-21 loss to South Africa in Johannesburg, a 73-8 win over Fiji in Liverpool, and the victory in Argentina.
Earl questioned the practical logic of shuttling players between continents rather than hosting the tournament in a single country. He suggested a centralised format would create a more efficient and engaging spectacle.
"It's been brutal, there's no two ways about it," Earl said. "We've been speaking about it - why would we not all be playing in one country?
