Welsh Player Row Continues
In a continuation of the club v country controversy surrounding new player release proposals, Wales’ regions are now to complain to the International Rugby Board.
Claiming that the Welsh Rugby Union did not consult them regarding player release, Regional Rugby Wales has stated they will now be making a ‘formal complaint’ to the IRB, to which the WRU has until Friday 7th November to reply.
The complaint follows a High Court order won by the WRU last month, which demanded Wales’ four regions to release their Welsh squad members so that they could prepare for the autumn Tests opener against South Africa, which occurs this weekend.
However, a denial of the player release demand by English clubs means Wales would be without leading scrum-halves for the 29th November match against Australia, as the game falls outside the International Rugby Board window for autumn Tests.
While the Welsh regions have to release players, England’s clubs have demanded the return of their stars that weekend, which would mean that Sale’s Dwayne Peel and Gareth Cooper of Gloucester would play in Guinness Premiership games that weekend.
