England’s most capped men’s rugby player Ben Youngs believes it is time for the RFU to reconsider its rule that Steve Borthwick can only pick Prem-based players.
It was after the Rugby World Cup 2011 when the RFU brought in its rule that makes overseas-based players ineligible for England selection unless in exceptional circumstances.
This rarely used special dispensation was last utilised to allow Borthwick to select Jack Willis through to the Rugby World Cup 2023 after the dramatic October 2022 collapse of Wasps left the back-rower club-less and taking up an offer to see out the season at Toulouse.
Willis opted to stay on in France after England’s bronze medal finish, making him ineligible for Test selection, and the same restriction will now be applied to his brother Tom following his decision this week to take up a money-spinning offer at Bordeaux.
“Why are we still with this rule?”
The No.8 will stay at Saracens until the end of the current season but Borthwick has quickly taken action at England level, deciding to exclude Willis from the squad for the upcoming Autumn Nations Series even though he is eligible for selection and will be until next summer’s cross-Channel move.
Willis showcased his potential this year, starting three Six Nations matches and then being the standout player in England’s tour series victory in Argentina, but Borthwick has now decided to exclude Willis and look to the future.
It has left retired scrum-half Youngs, who won 127 caps in his Test career, wondering if a change in the rule governing non-England-based players is now required. Appearing on the latest edition of For The Love Of Rugby, he said: “I do wonder now whether the rule of playing abroad is now outdated.
“It served a great purpose. It did what it was supposed to do. I do think we have got to the period where it’s served its purpose, and if you go abroad you can still be eligible. Now maybe it needs to be 20 caps, 25, I don’t know.
“But I just think if your best players to play, if the best back-row you can pick, for instance, is Tom Curry, Jack Willis and Tom Willis and two are playing abroad, if that is your best back-row you can pick, why can’t you? Why are we still with this rule?”
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Fellow England centurion Dan Cole, his podcast show co-host, defended the RFU and believed the rule should stay as it is. “We talk about players playing too much, we talk about game management, load management and that kind of stuff.
“I know some go over the minutes, (Maro) Itoje did in the summer, but England rugby pay the clubs to have access to the players. And also the players are looked after and only play a certain number of games, have training weeks and certain amounts of rest days, so they are in peak form to play for the international team.
“If these players then go to France, there is no control over how many games they play… you talk about player welfare, I know it’s probably a weak argument, but England have no control over those players if they go abroad and because of that, because of the way it is set up with the RFU, it’s not going to change.
“The RFU is not going to pay French clubs to release players and they shouldn’t, so it has a value in keeping the English game healthy. I don’t think it is going to change, so therefore the debate becomes a bit of a non-starter. There is no point wasting breath over it.
“And players know that as well. It’s not like players have gone over and gone, ‘Oh, I can’t play for England now’. They know that before the decision is made. They have gone in there with their eyes open, knowing what is going on.”
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This past week’s transfer left Youngs wondering how the salary on offer in England compares to that in France. “Let’s work this out roughly. For someone to go to France in the game’s current state, if you have a central contract from England, that’s £150,000. You get about £10K per game on top of that. So let’s say £250,000 if you are playing every game.
“Then you are looking at an international player playing at their club, a club contract is going to be around £300,000 to £400,000. Let’s say £300,000 for argument’s sake, plus the 250K, so £550K give or take. That’s England rugby if you play every game… but if a French team is coming in, it’s going to be close to £700,000, £800,000, which is guaranteed over two or three years and England can change (as a player could be dropped).”
With Willis now unavailable for the upcoming Test window that starts against Australia on Australia 1, Cole suggested his England back-row. “Ben Earl is going to be in there at eight, (Sam) Underhill at seven, and the six, you could do a Lions and put (Ollie) Chessum there, but then is your next second-row better than your back-row? Guy Pepper at Bath has been excellent… I don’t know. Who’d be young choice at six?”
Youngs replied: “Underhill at seven, Ben Earl at eight and at six I would probably give Guy Pepper a go based on what I saw last season. He had a great season, and (Henry) Pollock would come off the bench.”
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Switching to fly-half, Youngs reckoned George Ford was in pole position to face the Wallabies in the No.10 shirt. “If you are going to go first game, Australia on a short week, it feels like it is George Ford at 10, and the following week you go with Fin Smith, and then on the back of that it is a straight shootout for New Zealand.
“Alex (Mitchell) and Fin have a great relationship playing together club rugby all the time (at Northampton), but George Ford had a great summer tour for England. I just think for that first game with a short week, maybe George is best suited for that first game, and then Fin for the second.
“I think Marcus will be full-back… Ollie Lawrence will be 12, Tommy Freeman 13. England have a lot of talented 10s, but on a short week, I can see George at 10 for that first game. But it wouldn’t surprise me if it was Fin and Alex.”
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