THORNBURY RFC chairman Michael Tinney has backed the club’s biggest star, Billy Vunipola, who has called for less matches at the professional level of rugby to avoid player burn-out.

Vunipola, who, with his brother Mako, learnt their trade as teenagers with Thornbury Broncos and at Castle School, has been ruled out for four months with a knee cartilage injury picked up on Saturday in his club, Saracens’, 41-13 victory over Sale Sharks.

Vunipola had surgery on the injury which is the third major problem he has had in the space of around a year.

Last Autumn, Vunipola suffered a knee problem which needed surgery.

Then, in May, a shoulder injury forced him to miss the British and Irish Lions tour of New Zealand last summer. The latest problem now means he will be out of around four months, and will miss England’s Autumn Test Series in November and, possibly, the start of the Six Nations Championship.

The 24-year-old number eight, who has won 34 caps for his country, told the BBC before Saracens’ Aviva Premiership game with Sale that professional fixtures need to be cut down. “Something probably needs to change, or the players will just burn out,” he said.

Tinney agrees and also believes that satisfying the increased desire of TV audiences to see big tackles from ultra-fit athletes aggravates the situation.

The Thornbury chairman said: “The young lad (Billy) is picking up injuries which are following one after the other. There is a lot expected of these players to play for at club and international level.

“The game has taken its’ toll on Billy. It’s a sad thing but it’s the nature of the game. The TV following figures want more of this stuff and they want to see more collisions, every week and every month over the year.

“They (TV companies) do not have the problem of maintain the players. We have lost two props at our level and we are only four games into the season.”

Tinney admitted it would be tough to cut back on Premiership or European Cup matches at the highest level but cutting back on end-of-season international tours would be one way of relieving the burden of almost endless rugby each year.

Indeed, the Rugby Players Association in England have rejected extending the season to ten months from 2019, with a statement saying: “The physical and mental strain placed on participants of professional contact sport cannot be underestimated.”

Meanwhile, Tinney added: “We wish him (Billy) to be back playing as soon as possible.”