RFU chief has his say on whether England could pick Saracens players if they move to France
Rugby Football Union chief executive Bill Sweeney has refused to rule out the possibility of allowing England to select Saracens players who have departed overseas in the wake of the salary cap scandal.
The double winners will be relegated from the Gallagher Premiership at the end of the season for being in breach of the £7million limit on wages enforced by the league and are likely lose a number of their stars for the 2020/21 campaign.
Although Eddie Jones is permitted to pick from Championship clubs, it is an unsatisfactory scenario, especially with the Lions touring South Africa in 2021.
With recruitment by Premiership teams for next season well underway, Saracens players could move to France in the search of a contract – a decision that would normally make them unavailable for England selection.
However, the RFU can reverse this policy in ‘exceptional circumstances’ and Sweeney insists he will act in the best interests of the England team.
(Continue reading below…)
Eddie Jones names England’s 2020 Six Nations squad
“We’re not going there yet because the focus at the moment is very much on this Six Nations and that first game against France,” Sweeney said. “Right now it doesn’t impact the Six Nations and it doesn’t impact the tour to Japan in July. The first time we need to consider things like that are the autumn internationals.
“We can select players from the Championship, that’s always been the case, but anything to do with exemptions and exceptional circumstances is a bit hypothetical at this stage.
“Any decisions made (will be) in the best interests of the England team and the players. The players are at the forefront of our considerations and we want to make sure that, whatever happens, the players aren’t disadvantaged in any way.”
Explosive radio interview illustrates how the Saracens saga hasn't ended with last Saturday's automatic relegation https://t.co/IL6MK9Ta3X
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 21, 2020
When asked about the possibility of centrally contracting Saracens players to keep them on these shores, Sweeney replied: “That’s a big can of worms and no, we haven’t gone there at this stage.”
The RFU is currently examining the written report on Saracens’ salary cap transgressions that was issued in November but has not been made public.
Twickenham supports the action taken by Premiership Rugby Limited and is in constant dialogue with the governing body responsible for running the English top flight.
While admitting “there are no winners out of this”, Sweeney has ruled out a disrepute charge being brought against either Saracens or any individuals involved “at this stage”.
– Press Association
WATCH: Andy Goode and Brendan Venter didn’t hold back on this week’s The Rugby Pod as they discussed Saracens and the salary cap scandal
Comments on RugbyPass
wel the crusaders were beaten by a queensland reds side that hadnt beaten them at home since 1999 and queensland reds partied like it was 1999
4 Go to commentsHard to disagree with the 5 points - with the exception that Wilson should be a squad member but, depending on the other loose forward selections, is not yet a shoo-in. McReight is. Aussie is looking a lot better this year and JS has some selection options. Also, Havili’s tendency to get caught, charged down is also a liability at times but he seemed focused (mostly) and is definitely a consideration for utility back-up. Still feel Reihana is a better prospect at 1st five for Saders.
4 Go to commentsYeah nah, still not sure on Havili tbh. Even though I’m a Crusaders fan through and through I’d be stunned if Razor considers him after seeing some of the stunning talent coming through up North.
4 Go to commentsThink it was a great defensive performance by Northampton. They didn't have stage fright in the first half, the Nienaber defense smothered them. They limited Leinster to 15-3 in the first half. It could have been over by then. A great try from Leinster in the start of the second half looked to have sealed it. But Byrne missed another conversion. Northampton started trying little kicks behind the Leinster wingers. Leinster messed one and Smith brilliantly made the conversion. Leinster decided to tighten the game after Byrne missed a straight forward penalty. A few errors got NH into the 22 and they scored and converted with a few minutes left. Another brilliant steal from Lawes saw NH have a final attack which was turned over by Conan. A classic semi final. World record attendance of 82,300. Leinsters 3 week preparation warranted for this one.
1 Go to commentsJust came back from the game and the atmosphere was amazing. Players stayed afterwards for more than a hour to sign stuff and take photos with fans. Great day out.
5 Go to commentsA great game. The Sharks without Etsebeth are a shadow of the team compared to when he plays. The limitations of Some of the expensive Sharks players are being exposed. Credit to Clermont for some exhilaration play at times.
5 Go to comments100% Mr Owens. But who would want to be a referee.? It must be the most difficult job on earth.
1 Go to commentsStarts to be overdone and oversold this systematic SA narrative…which nevertheless has the merit in this case to recognise blatant refereeing mistakes in their favor
5 Go to commentsNice article. Shades of Steinbeck. They can win the final if they take the game seriously; but only if they take it seriously.
5 Go to commentsWhat a sad way to end a glittering career. Somebody should tell him to delete his social media accounts and face the consequences of what he's done. Then he should slip away quietly into obscurity. This isn't likely to happen, something tells me he'll be back in The Sun / Daily Mail sooner rather than later.
5 Go to commentsguys its fine! he understands why he did what he did and has taken accountability for it; why should he have to be accountable to a court? after all he did was abuse people in person - its not as if he was engaging in _online_ abuse!
5 Go to commentsChiefs flanker Kaylum Boshier yellow-carded for collapsing the scrum as it rolled towards the line. It was a maul….
1 Go to commentsyou know, i’m a leinster fan so I want Northampton to lose and it is gonna be tuff with Cortney lawes, Alex michell and the other guys🏉 lets go leinster🏉
1 Go to commentsWelcome to the Pro ranks. Those hard teams of old do hit the sole better though. its a dog fight at the top.
6 Go to commentsCan someone fill me in please, I've read a number of Ben Smith articles now and it seems he's got something again South Africa? Surely, this game was over and done with 7 months ago. Can't we have something a bit more interesting and relevant, or is this the calibre of journalist on this site?
238 Go to commentsNot sure what the Welsh are moaning about. They’ve had far more players off England, than England have had off Wales. Guys like Josh Hathaway and Kane James will play for Wales in the end. And they’ll be fsr better players for having played in the Gallagher Premiership, than they ever would have been had they stayed mired in the shambles that is Welsh rugby.
4 Go to commentsThis is all being blown totally out of proportion. First of all, since half the Irish team isn’t Irish - it’s very likely that none of the Irish players said that at all and, thus, we’re not being arrogant. Second, since half the Irish team is Kiwi - it’s very likely the Kiwi players were predicting a NZ SA World Cup final. Which they got spot on. Good on them!
163 Go to commentsAha. An Irishman with logic! Follow the flow: - Ireland peaks with a >80% win record between 2020 and 2023. And then… - crashes out of another QF at the WC; - Beat a poor French Team; - Beat 6N wooden spoonists Italy; - Play shite against eventual wooden spoonists Wales; - Lose against the most boring, “the worst English team ever” , a team widely regarded as unable to attack; - scrape through against Scotland. This article, No - Trimble, is on the money! Except for one glaring statement: _The Springboks have a few aces in the hole in this debate being the reigning world champions and official world number ones_ There is no debate, boys and girls. There it is. In black and white. “Reigning World Champions and OFFICIAL world number ones”. Come July, the overrated Andy Farrell and this overhyped team are going to enter into a world of hurt.
90 Go to commentsI’d like to know what homoerotic events Daniel enjoyed at 8th man. I clearly missed out!
20 Go to commentsThis article is missing some detail, like some actual context or info about what led to him abusing the ref.
2 Go to comments