Joe Marler has revealed he has been appointed to lead discussions with the Rugby Football Union and the Premiership clubs over the welfare of England players, claiming that Test stars were previously “not looked after”.

Marler, who brought an end to his England career during the autumn internationals before retiring for good in November, has been appointed to a new role as performance director for Team England Rugby (TER).

TER is an organisation set up by England players to negotiate with the RFU after the decision was made to break away from the Rugby Players’ Association. Much of Marler’s focus will be on players exceeding the maximum game time – reduced to 30 match involvements as part of the Professional Game Partnership which came into effect this season.

With the British & Irish Lions tour of Australia taking place this summer, a host of England players are on course to exceed the limit with Marler expressing concern that “so many” will require exemptions to continue playing. It will be up to Marler to negotiate those exemptions and ensure players receive adequate rest further down the line.

Suggesting there would be players who “would be too scared to speak to the DoRs [directors of rugby]”, Marler told the For The Love of Rugby podcast he was building relationships with Premiership clubs to “take the pressure away from players” and explained how he had already discussed Nick Isiekwe’s game time with Saracens’ director of rugby, Mark McCall.

“The boys needed to be looked after for a long period of time,” he said. “We weren’t looked after with our previous representation. So we went, right, we’re setting this Team England Rugby up. We’re moving away from the previous representation. And we are going to take control of it.

“We predicted that there would have to be so many exemptions from the start, especially for the top players who are playing for England and are consistently getting into the playoff positions with their clubs, whether it’s in Europe or the Prem. They’re definitely going to go over the limit. Can we stop them playing pre-season games? Give them a longer rest? Stop them being involved in the first two or three [Premiership games]?”

Marler was one of the five players – along with the captain, Jamie George, Maro Itoje, Ellis Genge and Anthony Watson – to lead Team England Rugby in negotiations over England contracts this season. When a deal was announced in October, the players said they had voiced “extensive concerns” about their workload with the RFU. Marler’s appointment has been made in an effort to address some of those concerns after George insisted the introduction of player welfare protocols specific to England players “needs to be explored”.

Marler said: “It sounds posh and official, but it’s basically having the backs of the England rugby team, doing a lot of the admin work, conversations between DoRs, clubs and RFU to make sure they feel supported in decisions around operations, welfare if there are injuries, that they’re being consulted on things and it’s been done in the right way.

“It’s about building up relationships [with the DoRs] when it comes to the end of campaigns and people require rest, and taking the pressure away from the player of having to have those conversations. There are loads of boys in the squad who are young who would be too scared to speak to the DoRs without being judged for being soft, or being told: ‘We pay your wages, get on with it.’”