Premiership players are in advanced discussions about launching a breakaway union after growing frustrated with the Rugby Players’ Association (RPA) and its response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Telegraph Sport understands that professional players from around the country, including current England internationals, feel that the RPA is heavily compromised because of its reliance on Premiership Rugby for funding.

There is also a sense of injustice that the RPA “have not turned up” to protect their members since March, with Premiership clubs effectively “colluding” to impart blanket pay-cuts across the league and then choosing not to sign one another’s players.

“Gloucester announced they were going to take pay-cuts and all the other clubs followed suit to do the same thing,” said one senior player from a Premiership club.

“PRL [Premiership Rugby Limited] is owned by the 13 clubs in the Premiership plus Newcastle Falcons and the clubs have colluded together to make the same cuts across the league, with Newcastle making 50 per cent cuts.”

He claimed that the decision not to sign one another’s players was tantamount to “collusion or price-fixing”.

Many players have now been furloughed by clubs under the Government’s coronavirus job retention scheme, while Saracens have agreed pay-deferrals for those earning over £75,000. There have also been talks between clubs about lowering the competition’s salary cap.

The RPA trade union arm published income of £1,613,787 for the year up to August 2018, with almost £1.5m of that figure coming from RFU and Premiership Rugby grants and a total of £121,955 from members.

Concerns over its ability to act as an independent mediator in talks with clubs were voiced to the RPA by players on Thursday.

“The other issue we have as rugby players is that the RPA has no leverage to act on our behalf because they are funded by PRL,” added a source.

“Unless they can be a truly independent organisation, we have no representation. Until we can have a uniform response to all clubs, owners and chief execs that says: ‘This is our stance’, we won’t be protected.

“They have closed the market, essentially, and they have done it because we have no representation from a union that can step in for us.”

Former London Wasps and England wing Damian Hopley set up the RPA in 1998 after being forced into retirement due to injury at the age of 26.

The organisation has grown to a team of more than 20 with a board of non-executive directors and a 16-person players’ board with representatives from 13 Premiership Rugby clubs as well as England Women and both men’s and women’s England Sevens teams.

“The Rugby Players’ Association generates £1.3m through our successful commercial programme, which funds a wide range of our player welfare initiatives,” Hopley said.

“The RPA has worked tirelessly for all of our members throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and we absolutely refute any suggestion of anything otherwise.

“The RPA remains committed to our long-standing mission of making England the best environment to play rugby in the world.”