STATEMENT | Premiership rugby reveal when teams could return to training

Chris Booy, Professional Game Board Chair said: “A meeting of the Professional Game Board was held today (21/05/20) which incorporates representatives of the Rugby Football Union (RFU) Premiership Rugby, Rugby Players Association (RPA) and Championship Clubs.

“The group agreed that although a huge amount of work is being undertaken to enable a safe return to training for Premiership clubs, more time was needed to ensure that players, staff and officials can return to a safe training environment, and that is not expected to be in place for a minimum of two weeks.

“Safety and welfare remains of paramount importance to all of us in the rugby community, and we look forward to the season resuming when it is safe to do so.

“Further updates on progress will be made in due course.”

However, for one reason or another they never really shined for England or just didn’t get the chance to prove how good they really were.

Either way, they deserve recognition for representing England to the best of their ability.

Yes, he has a cap – only a fleeting one, as a late injury replacement for Mark Cueto against Australia in 2005 – but he does boast a 100% winning ratio in international colours, so you can’t knock that. His main strengths were dropping the high ball under limited pressure and getting gassed on the outside. However, a very solid player for Wasps between 2002 and 2011.

The Bristol prop was a solid bloke who anchored the Bristol scrum during that season where they finished 3^rd in the Premiership, in 2006-07, and was rewarded with a call-up to the England squad for their tour to South Africa. However, Crompton was never the most mobile and since he was 34 when he made his bow in international colours, he was practically stationary by the time he put on the England shirt.

After an injury to Alex Goode he was called up to the England squad in May 2013. He made his début as a substitute for Freddie Burns in England's victory over Argentina, scoring a conversion.

Gloucester stalwart Hazell had the unenviable task of filling the retired Neil Back’s shoes.  We can assume that Robinson’s thought process was, “He’s small, he’s aggressive, he’s just like Neil Back”, but unfortunately it didn’t really work out like that.  Making his international appearances exclusively through 2004-05, Hazell became known as a bit of a penalty machine.

He made his full test debut against Argentina on 8 June on the right wing playing the whole 80 minutes. Wade was selected for the second game against Argentina the following week but withdrew from the team when he was called up to join the 2013 British and Irish Lions tour to Australia. He, would never win another cap.