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The RFU rule Mike Tindall would happily bin to make England better
England Rugby World Cup winner Mike Tindall has claimed the RFU must rethink its approach and allow Test-level players who are based outside of the Gallagher Premiership to be made eligible for selection.
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Head coach Steve Borthwick is heading into the start of the 2024 Guinness Six Nations unable to select four players who were part of the England squad at the recent Rugby World Cup as they are playing their club rugby in France.
The Toulouse-based Jack Willis, Toulon’s David Ribbans, Stade Francais’ Joe Marchant and Racing 92’s Henry Arundell have all missed out on getting picked by Borthwick due to earning their living outside of the Premiership – and more players are set to join them across the Channel in 2024/25 and make themselves Test-selection ineligible.
It’s red tape that Tindall, the 2003 World Cup-winning midfielder, wants scrapping as quickly as possible. “There is a big thing with England at the moment about trying to protect the Premiership but I’m sort of the other side (of the argument),” he told In The Zone, the Gambling Zone podcast series.
“For years, the Premiership has paid other nations to house their great players. Faf de Klerk, Lood de Jager. A lot of South Africans have come and played in this league and then gone back and won World Cups and they are bringing up the next generation of players.
“I have got no issues with English players going away and other people paying their salaries and then coming back and playing for their country,
“I would get rid of it at the moment just because of where we are salary cap-wise. You could get paid well to play in this country (before the cut)… That’s the thing we have got wrong, we have got to find a way so that even a club like Newcastle can become an attractive place to go and play.
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“We need to guarantee they can get 10,000 fans through the turnstiles and at the moment we can’t do that with the way the league is set up but yet we drag our feet with his we should change things to make it better.
“There are things coming in from what I am hearing about trying to move things forward… but the rugby cog turns very slowly and we missed out on a chance during covid to change it fast and dramatically and it would have created a lot of interest.”
Tindall added: “We are playing catch up. Rugby is a game built on tradition and we love that tradition, but some of those traditions should go. How long ago did Will Carling have his moment with the committee and has that really changed? I don’t think it has.
“I don’t think we have anyone who is driving severe change but if someone does come in they normally don’t get anywhere because people don’t want to do they change. If we want rugby to survive, we have to flip it completely on its head.
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“If you look at every major sport, the club game drives everything. However, international rugby drives the sport, not club rugby. It’s the wrong way around. You have got the third biggest global sporting event in the Rugby World Cup, which is massive.”
Comments on RugbyPass
What a joke. Total joke and the pundits commentating, all of whom know a bit about the game, could barely disguise their contempt. Reaching for the card then pulling back when he realised a red card would carry further match suspensions is simply not his decision to make. A clear and obvious influence on the outcome of this match and indeed, the championship path.
2 Go to commentsI like the idea, in NZ the Ranfurly Shield and NPC coexist, both having their own bragging rights. The World Cup would be the pinnacle, but the competition and travels of these trophies would be interesting.
40 Go to commentsDon’t worry Sonny bill Williams leave that awkward situation about the curfew in the pass whoever it was it doesn’t matter its no big deal we back our All Blacks through the storm and the thunder until we see the Sun light again.
41 Go to commentsWho listens to this retard? He was a massive liability as a player but obviously a media sensation
41 Go to commentsI’m not surprised by such ‘virtue signalling’ by Sonny Boy. Butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth. He’s such a pious Islamic muppet, imo.
41 Go to commentsI’ve actually never heard of the guy (then I don’t watch League as it is boring). But if he is good enough.. then good luck to him. If not, well, he can always return to league.
2 Go to commentsIt is pretty clear that by almost any measure that NZ are a more successful rugby nation than South Africa. Quite aside from the distasteful events during the last RWC final. NZ lead SA in all significant measurements.
40 Go to commentsDickson went to his pocket for a card, saw who it was, changed his mind and spoke at length to TMO. One angle clearly shows Care diving over a Saints player to kill the ball. 1st yellow, reason given for not Red was player was falling backwards. He was only falling backwards after contact with Lawes. Graham try should have stood. Mitchell did not have both hands on the ball, ball went forward from a Saints boot dragging over it. 2 intentional knock-on's. One of which had an overlap on the outside. If Quins are happy to win by intentional foul play, then it does not say much for them. Would appear to be a bad day for Karl Dickson, also for the RFU in appointing a Ref who spent 8 years as a player at one of the clubs.
2 Go to commentsLet’s not forget about Ardie Savea just yet.
4 Go to commentsThe URC and the Euro Championscup can’t run at the same time, basically dilutes both competitions.
1 Go to comments“While Sotutu should start at No.8 for the All Blacks against England, but it’s only in that arena that he can prove just how good he really is.” And that my friends is where simply hasnt shone despite multiple opportunities. Even in this performance you can see what did him in in the test arena..he almost always still runs at the opposition almost ramrod upright making him easier to stop than it should be.
4 Go to commentsShould have been 0-0 and a message from SR CEO to both teams - “don’t worry about turning up next year”.
4 Go to commentsGreat work Owen Franks. A great of this team, scoring his first try for the Crusaders since 2010.He was beaming, justifiably. A fine win, he and the rest did the job up front.
1 Go to commentsDanny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
4 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
4 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
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