Greg Bateman is among the newcomers to the RPA Players’ Board for the 2019/20 season.
Leicester Tigers prop Bateman has been elected alongside Matt Garvey (Bath), Tom Lindsay (Bristol Bears), Phil Dollman (Exeter Chiefs) and Richard Barrington (Saracens).
The group got together for the first time this season to discuss key issues in the game while also re-electing Harlequins prop Mark Lambert as the Rugby Players' Association chairman for a third year and Phil Burgess, an England Sevens player, as vice-chairman.
Lambert said: "The first Players’ Board meeting was extremely positive. It is really important to set the tone for the season ahead, so I was really pleased with the engagement from our Player Representatives.
“There is a huge amount going on in the game so it was a great opportunity for us to discuss the key issues as a group and set our objectives for the next 12 months."
RPA Group chief executive Damian Hopley said of the year ahead: "The role of the Players’ Board cannot be understated. It's essential to see the players setting the agenda around the important issues in the game. We have an excellent group of Player Reps and we are confident we can achieve a huge amount this season under the outstanding leadership of Mark and Phil."
