Ultimate magazine theme for WordPress.

England: No plans to change eligibility requirements – Bill Sweeney

39 minutes ago

image source, Getty Images

image description,

Owen Farrell will join Racing 92 at the end of the season, ending his eligibility to play for England

There are no plans to change England's eligibility rules, says Bill Sweeney, chief executive of the Rugby Football Union.

The rules state that players selected for England must compete in the Premiership.

Sweeney said the departing players had discussions with head coach Steve Borthwick and that “partly a lifestyle choice” was the reason for the departure.

“If you look at the number of players going overseas, it doesn’t really impact our core group,” Sweeney said.

“Our current policy of only selecting players based in England remains as it is.”

Saracens fly-half Owen Farrell will join Racing 92 at the end of the season. He is joined in the top 14 by England international Kyle Sinckler, who is joining Toulon for next season, followed by Northampton's Lewis Ludlam.

This comes after World Cup squad members Jack Willis and Henry Arundell, who both moved to France following the demise of Wasps and London Irish, decided to extend their contracts with Toulouse and Racing and rule out a return to the Premier League before this season .

“If you actually look at the players we have abroad, they've probably made a decision in terms of, 'Where is my England career at now?'” he added.

“‘Am I fighting for a place in these hybrid contracts? Am I in the core group of future England players?'”

English center Manu Tuilagi will also leave the Sale Sharks at the end of the season and move to Bayonne.

Former Harlequins center Joe Marchant moved to Stade Francais after starting as a center for England with Tuilagi during the World Cup, but is rumored to be considering a return to the Premier League.

“Maybe there are one or two that you think we would rather have here,” Sweeney added.

“There are rumors that Joe Marchant will return to the Premiership this year, so from our point of view we are OK with that.”

“We believe there is a performance advantage in having these players in our own country.”

Comments are closed.

%d bloggers like this: