Rugby players in England are being advised not to take strike action against pay cuts being forced on them - but to recoup any lost earnings through the courts instead.
There is widespread anger within the Premiership playing fraternity that 25 per cent pay cuts which were said to be only temporary at the start of the Covid outbreak are now being made permanent.
Club owners are allegedly pressuring players to accept reduced deals by Thursday.
Harlequins’ England prop Joe Marler blasted the escalating crisis as an ‘absolute crock of sh*t!!!’
He added: “Friedrich Nietzsche had it right - “I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you.”
Players have been advised by their union to steer clear of strike action as that would remove the legal security they have through employment law.
A source said: “Talk of strike action is nonsense, it’s the last thing we want. The advice is that if these cases go to court the players are going to win.
“There are guys who signed contracts a month, six weeks ago, and all of a sudden those contracts are worth less. That just isn’t right. But employment law means they have got six years to claim.
“They can carry on doing what they’re doing and get paid a bit less in the meantime - but all the clubs will know these cases are hanging over them and the guys can claim back the money at a later date.”
When England players briefly went on strike over pay in 2000 team boss Clive Woodward branded it "the saddest day in the history of English rugby”.
Although industrial action was briefly mooted last week it is thought there is no real appetite for it.
A source close to the clubs said: “A strike means no more rugby, more sitting around, more bad press. Players don’t want that. They just want to be given what they were contractually told they would get.”
Maro Itoje, a front runner to captain the British and Irish Lions next year, is set to remain at Saracens despite their relegation. Mako Vunipola is also thought now likely to stay.
