The 'poppycock' Baxter reaction to England picking overseas players
Exeter boss Rob Baxter has shot down recent speculation that the restriction preventing overseas-based players from representing England could be scrapped. Jack Willis last month became the first player since Jonny Wilkinson and Tom Palmer in the 2011 World Cup quarter-final to represent England while registered with a club in France.
The flanker made an emergency move to the Top 14 in November following his redundancy at the collapsed Wasps and a special dispensation has since enabled him to temporarily be available to Steve Borthwick for the Guinness Six Nations campaign.
However, that dispensation for Willis will end next week and despite Borthwick recently calling on the RFU to review its overseas selection policy, Baxter can’t see any other player based outside the Gallagher Premiership ever being able to get selected in the future by Borthwick for England duty.
Exeter are losing a number of their Test players to the Top 14 at the end of this season with Luke Cowan-Dickie and Sam Simmonds heading to Montpellier, while their England squad colleagues Joe Marchant and David Ribbans have also secured confirmed deals with Stade Francais and Toulon respectively.
Baxter, though, wouldn’t like to see these players based in France and still be available to play for England, claiming that such a scenario would damage the credibility of the Premiership and weaken its ability to hold onto its Test players.
“I cannot see any way that the clubs would agree to raise the overseas being allowed to play for England,” he said on Wednesday at his media briefing ahead of this Saturday’s Exeter game at home to Newcastle in the league. “I know there was an article a little while ago that said the feeling was the clubs would be in agreement because the thing they don’t want is players moving between other clubs.
“I read it and I thought, ‘Where has this guy got this poppycock?’ That was genuinely poppycock. I don’t know where it could have come from because I can’t believe any CEO or owner in the Premiership saying, ‘Yeah, that is fine, they can go overseas as long as they don’t join another Premiership club’.
“With the strictness of the salary cap it’s one of the few things that allows better quality players, particularly guys who have come through your academy and you have helped create their careers, it is one of things that helps you keep them at the club and without doubt that is what you want to do.
“Obviously if they are home grown you get some benefit in being home grown and then obviously you pick up some international credits. These are the things that help you within the salary cap and then the fact that the player is earning from playing for England, that helps as well.
“But I can’t believe there would be a single club that would go, ‘Oh yeah, I agree with the fact that potentially my best player could still maintain his England career and we have now got to compete with more French clubs and Irish clubs, whatever’.”
Having been reduced during the pandemic, the Premiership salary cap is set to increase from 2024/25 and despite some suggestion that this plan might not yet go ahead, Baxter was adamant that the increase was already signed off. “I believe that is already set in stone as far as I have been told.”
Comments on RugbyPass
The shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
1 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
8 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
56 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
8 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to comments