Wru Gets Welsh Players Released

After a long-running row with the Welsh and England Rugby clubs regarding player release, the Welsh Rugby Union has achieved its desired player access for the Six Nations.

Welsh players in regional clubs will return to play for their Grand Slam team 13 days before the opener in Scotland in February.

Additionally, Wales has permission to call on their players for the entire Six Nations, despite schedule conflicts with regional matches for two of the weekends during the tournament.

The decision came after months of conflict between the WRU and Welsh and English clubs, who would only agree to International Rugby Board regulations, which calls for eight days of international access.

This rule will still be applied to Welsh players based outside of Wales.

The terms were agreed to by the regions after meetings this week, which marked some progress. The row began when Wales coach Warren Gatland wanted his players back on the team for 13 days to prepare for the match against world champions South Africa in November.

This triggered a move by the regional clubs to create the new Regional Rugby Wales to battle against releasing the players for the Wales team.

With the recent decision, the WRU and Gatland have now secured the outcome that had initially been desired last year.