RFU Hits Out At Premier Rugby Tactics

The volatile relationship between the Rugby Football Union and Premier Rugby
took another turn for the worse after the RFU criticised the top-flight club
representative body for publicising details of their discussions.

Premier Rugby Limited, which represents the 12 Guinness Premiership clubs,
detailed the latest proposals for the domestic game on its website earlier this
week – an act which the RFU has labelled as “cherry picking” the information
available to the public.

‘It’s particularly disappointing that PRL chose to break the confidentiality
agreement on the negotiations,’ said RFU chairman Martyn Thomas.

‘We had made progress on a number of the more difficult and sensitive issues
because both negotiating teams were able to talk about these issues and
potential solutions in private and in confidence.’

PRL asked the RFU for £12.4m-a-year funding and, in return, proposed that no
player in the England team will have to play for their clubs during the Six
Nations.

It also suggested a “Professional Board” to run the pro game in England and
repeated its demands for a direct stake in the Heineken Cup.

‘The PRL proposals are a ‘cherry picking’ of those items in the draft Heads
of Agreement of the 6th March that it finds attractive,’ read a statement from
the RFU.

‘They differ in a number of material aspects from the proposals made by the
PRL negotiating team in recent meetings, in particular on the management control
of the Elite Player Squads.’