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Preparations for World Cup thrown into chaos as Premiership and World Rugby collide

By Nathaniel Cope
Liam Williams scores for Wales against Tonga. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

Teams at the Rugby World Cup could be facing a major problem when it comes to preparation after an insurance wrangle between the Premiership Rugby Limited and World Rugby.

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The Guardian report that Premiership Rugby Limited (PRL) will stop players from joining up with their national team squads until mid-August, with England being the exception because of the £220m Professional Game Agreement between the PRL and the RFU which was signed in 2016.

The major issue is insurance for injuries picked up while on international duty, with World Rugby recently raising the salary threshold of full compensation for an injured player from £225,000 to £350,000, but the PRL don’t think it’s enough, Guardian journalist Gerard Meagher reports.

That could mean teams would only have their full compliment of players 35 days before the opening game of the Rugby World Cup, which is on September 20th when hosts Japan face Russia in Pool A.

Among those who could be most affected are Scotland, who face what could be a Pool A decider against Ireland in their opening match, on Sunday 22nd. Gregor Townsend had nine Premiership players in his Autumn international squad, while their talismanic full back Stuart Hogg is due to join Exeter Chiefs this summer, albeit he may have a clause in his contract. Ireland on the other hand only use players under their central contract system and will have far longer to prepare for the match with Scotland.

Wales have several of their prominent players in the Premiership too, Dan Biggar at Northampton, Toby Faletau, Luke Charteris and Rhys Priestland at Bath, Liam Williams at Saracens, Tomas Francis at Exeter Chiefs, while Worcester Warriors winger Josh Adams, who is out of contract in the summer, may be playing for a Welsh-based side by then.

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Fiji would potentially be without the likes of Leicester’s Campese Ma’afu, Newcastle Falcons trio Tevita Cavubati, Nemani Nagusa and Vereniki Goneva, while London Irish prop Manasa Saulo may be in the Premiership should they secure promotion.

Samoa would also be hit severely – Newcastle Falcons’ Logovi’i Mulipola, a large contingent at Bristol Bears including Jack Lam, Tusi Pisi, Alapati Leiua, Jordan Lay and Northampton Saints’ Ahsee Tuala, while there were four London Irish players in the recent Samoan November squad – TJ Ioane, Ofisa Treviranus, Filo Paulo and Motu Matu’u.

Tonga’s preparations would be dented by the absence of their captain Siale Piutau, of Bristol Bears, Newcastle Falcons halfback Sonatane Takulua, Saracens flanker Sione Vailanu and Leicester Tigers backrow duo Sione Kalamafoni and Valentino Mapapalangi.

There are also sizeable contingents of players from South Africa, Georgia, Russia and Italy playing in the Premiership, among others.

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Southern Hemisphere teams competing in the Rugby Championship will have the advantage of having an extra official window to prepare close to the World Cup, with the Rugby Championship set to begin on July 20th, however the Guardian point out that there will be a period of time between the two international windows, so the likes of Sale’s Faf de Klerk and Gloucester’s Franco Mostert could be in limbo.

Watch: Rugby World Cup Japan city guide – Kumamoto

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Adrian 1 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

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T
Trevor 4 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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B
Bull Shark 8 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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