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It's a fair bet that professional rugby has shortened a player's career

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Pablo Luna - Moonlighting for Betfair. Pablo looks at the impact that rugby going pro has had on its stars ahead of the Six Nations

Today's rugby has undergone a dramatic change from amateurism to professionalism and my concern is that external parties have driven it and I am not quite sure where it will all end. The danger for the game is that income is generated by TV rise so that the controller of those rights can also control the direction of the game. Things that are ruled by market forces can bring consequences not foreseen and there could be a price to pay not yet listed on the balance sheet!

Rugby turned professional in 1995 and for the first time players no longer needed to work and this transformed everything within rugby. Television needed a new spectator sport to increase revenue and pumped money into the game like never before. Rugby union in England has seen its popularity soar, with more fans filling stadia than ever before. Stadium investment has not kept pace with higher attendances however. At present, the average attendance for a Premiership rugby game is on a par with League One football, in part due to the small crowd capacity at stadia.

The game has changed out of all recognition. The beer swilling camaraderie has been replaced by six packs on abdomens with players bulking up in gyms, even using the sanctioned creatine and other dubious supplements. New weights regimes have been designed to increase player's body strengths and nutritional regimes and dietary methods imposed to strictly regulate body fat and weight.

Brown envelopes containing expenses have been replaced by lucrative sponsorship deals making these internationals famous and wealthy. The impact of this professionalism has changed the way the game is played. It is not possible to throw the ball around with abandonment, as all moves have to be choreographed and planned like American gridiron. So is this a good thing? In the last ten years of rugby professionalism, the significant salaries to be earned in the game have attracted coaches, fitness experts and various gurus from other sports. Very few of these people have had specific rugby experience.

I have to say that despite the lack of tries in the final matches of the 2007 Rugby World Cup I did enjoy the intensity of those matches. I was also gratified to see the emerging nations closing the gap and being more competitive, this in turn helping rugby to capture the imagination of wider audiences. It was also as physical as I've ever seen.

So you wonder what the shelf life of rugby players is these days with the stress that their bodies take. Is there a physical cost to pay? Injuries have doubled since the sport turned professional, most being ligament and muscle damage to the knee. JPR Williams, former Welsh rugby great and orthopaedic surgeon says "You have only got to look at the number of injuries to see that producing bigger, stronger players is resulting in problems. There is no doubt the increased physicality of the game is the cause," he said. Former England coach Andy Robinson said "Injuries are part of the sport but I think players are going to start having three or four years taken off their careers."

I feel that no one is addressing or considering player burnout. No consideration was given to the longer-term physical and mental consequences of this modern professionalism. At a recent training session Johnny Wilkinson fell down injured and his team-mates were so used to seeing him on the floor that they carried on playing around him. What has happened to him, in playing terms, is nothing short of a sporting tragedy. Fewer games, bigger squads, a clearer rest period and a fresh approach to training have all become musts.

Very quickly, the demands on the professional player in the new era have become awesome. In nine months, they have had to play Heineken and domestic leagues with their clubs and internationally, the Six Nations, the autumn internationals and overseas tours, as well as, every four years, the Lions tour.

I confess that I enjoy watching this new era rugby though I appreciate my friends in my adopted country Wales think it is robotic. They do not like it, they prefer to see the backs running with the ball. Where will the game be in 5 years time? I honestly do not know! What do you think?

The forthcoming RBS Six Nations 2008 will be the most interesting for years, with new coaches, new tactics and new angles. It really is all to play for and the only result I am sure of is Italy for the wooden spoon. Latest Betfair odds show that France are favourites at [2.58] and England [3.7]. Ireland are [5.6] with Wales [8.0] and Scotland [14.5]. Italy are [65.0].

To read more about the Six Nations go to:

http://www.rbs6nations.com/splash.htm