Steve Borthwick’s recent remarks spell trouble for Jack Willis, Henry Arundell, and Owen Farrell, sidelined from England duty by eligibility regulations.
The England boss was speaking on The Good, The Bad, And The Rugby Podcast.
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While all head coaches crave their top talent, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) remains steadfast in maintaining the current framework.
RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney recently affirmed that England’s eligibility rules will remain unchanged, dismissing any imminent alterations.
Sweeney said departing players have had conversations with head coach Steve Borthwick and “partly a lifestyle choice” was their reason for leaving.
“If you look at the number of players going abroad, it doesn’t really impact our core group,” Sweeney said.
“Where we currently stand on the policy of only selecting players based in England stays as it is.”
When asked about it, Borthwick said: “The decision has been made,
“I’ve said this publicly before where we’ve got to create a system in England, for the clubs to be so good, the national team to be so good, the pathway to be so good that players don’t want to leave.
“If we’ve created the framework and a rule that players will only be picked from England, we’ve got to have the best competition in England.
“That’s what I want, that’s what we would all want. We all want our best players playing in England, so that’s building a system that makes them never even want to look overseas, they’ll want to stay here. That’s imperative.”
Rugby Union’s best 10 pundits have been ranked
In a whirlwind of rugby punditry during the 2024 Six Nations, RUCK followers turned their discerning eyes to the voices analysing the game, eager to dissect and rank their offerings. Here’s how the bios and rankings unfolded over 80 minutes:
Everyone has different taste and the top two are popular names, but there was little to choose between the pair. So
So, without further ado, view the results below.
10. Lawrence Dallaglio (ITV): Once a towering figure on the pitch, Dallaglio’s transition to punditry hasn’t quite matched his on-field prowess.
9. Jonny Wilkinson (ITV): An icon in the world of rugby, Wilkinson’s expertise is unquestionable. However, his reserved nature sometimes translates to a lack of engagement with viewers.
8. Martin Johnson (BBC): A formidable figure in rugby history, Johnson’s punditry tends to lean heavily on traditional approaches.
