RFU Concerned Over Player Moves

The Rugby Football Union has admitted its growing concern of the effect on the Guinness Premiership and the England team in the wake of the exodus of leading players transferring to French club rugby.

Three of Wasps’ England players signed for French clubs this week with England forwards James Haskell and Tom Palmer joining Stade Francais from next season, while their Wasps and international teammate Riki Flutey is heading to French rivals Brive.

Eleven English players, eight of whom have represented their country at the highest level, are already at top-flight French clubs, though former Leicester fly-half Andy Goode (Brive) is the only current international.

The RFU is set to discuss the effects of a talent drain on the English club game with Premier Rugby – the body that represents England’s top-flight clubs – at the next scheduled RFU Management Board on 25th February.

Commented Rob Andrew, the RFU’s director of elite rugby: ‘It’s new, we’ve never quite had this with professional rugby.

‘The Premiership has always been one of the strongest leagues and has attracted players from all over the world and paid big money for those players, particularly the All Blacks who came over after the 2007 World Cup.

‘There are two things that concern us. One, from England’s point of view, is that these players are playing well and are released back to England in exactly the same time that the other players are released back under the EPS [Elite Player Scheme] agreement.

‘Secondly, we have to look at longer term issues with the Premiership and with PRL over the impact it might have on quality and standing of the Guinness Premiership.’

England-qualified players plying their trade abroad fall outside the eight-year access agreement between England and the Premiership clubs.

The French clubs have an obligation to release the players for Tests but not for additional training weeks.

The current agreement allows England manager Martin Johnson to name a 32-man squad at the start of every season. He can then call them up for an August training camp, a fortnight of preparation before both the November Tests and the Six Nations, and an end-of-season tour.