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Clubs snub RFU on internationals

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getofmeland

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Originally posted by BBC SPORT
The three Guinness Premiership clubs in the Powergen Cup semi-finals will snub pleas from the Rugby Football Union not to pick their English internationals.

Wasps, Leicester and Bath will be in action at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday, 4 March.

England face France in the Six Nations eight days later.

Premier Rugby chief Mark McCafferty said: "We felt it was vitally important rugby fans were assured clubs will be playing to full strength on the day."

Premier Rugby is the organisation representing the 12 Premiership clubs - English rugby's top flight.

In December the RFU said it did not want England players to play on weekends when there were no Six Nations matches.


RFU set for further club showdown

The clubs' decision to play their internationals is just the latest incident in the long-running power battle between the clubs and the RFU for control of the players.

The Powergen Cup semi-finals will see London Wasps take on Leicester Tigers, while Bath will meet the lone Welsh representatives Llanelli Scarlets, with both matches live on BBC television.

This is a great, As i will be going to support Bath, and it will make it a fairer competition, its also good for the Fans, as they will get to see international rugby players not players from the acadamy, its also great for the Powergen Cup, that the clubs are taking this competition more serious...
 
So what is going to happen if the RFU decide to bollock teams that play England players during the international season? Or will it be on their non-pet sides (IE anyone apart from Wasps and Leicester).
 
I thought the clubs had already said they were going to play their players ages ago, what's the difference between now and then.
 
It's ridiculous for the RFU to demand the clubs rest their best players for no good reason. We won't have our internationals this weekend, even though there isn't an England game, and they had them an extra week in November.

If they don't release the England internationals for the PC semis, that will be, what, ten weekends in all that sqauds have been depleted? Where's the encouragement for bringing through young English players when, as soon as they get to a stage where they could influence a game, are stolen away? It's not the player's fault.

The really stupid thing is that the RFU agreed to this revamped Cup, forcing extra fixtures and still insist that they're in the right. Initially I wanted Bath to treat the cup with the contempt it deserved, but now it's our best chance of Europe next season.
 
As far as the following weekend opponents are concerned they will alll play for their respective clubs since there's Top14 round planned.
 
What's the big fuss about with the Powergen cup, surely most of them will be playing this weekend, I know Murphy said in his BBC column that he'd be playing for Leicester this Friday.
 
It's kinda ridiculous for the RFU to expect teams to give up their internationals on one of the most important games of the season. What the hell were they thinking?

Will Llanelli have their internationals?
 
Doesn't look like it, Ruddock had planned to pull them out, imagine Johnson will stick to the same plan.
 
They have enough injuries already I suppose. Bad news for the Scarlets and the competition.
 
Competition doesn't really offer anything to the Welsh franchises, no HEC qualification for one, so there's no real carat for Llanelli, where's the great joy in winning a tertiary competiton.
 
The Powergen cup is another one of those random competitions which is overplaying the players. Can anyone enlighten me as to the reason it even started in the first place? We already have the Heineken Cup and Permiership/ Celtic League in these countries. Why burden the players with more games?
 
This Powergen Cup is the latest avatar of the former English Cup. This time the Welsh sides entered in the competition to make more money because I guess you remember but Rugby has been professional for a bit more than ten years and that the clubs need incomes to pay their players and staff wages. While there's the 6N only the Unions are making money and not the clubs, furthermore there are many more club players than international players.
 
Originally posted by getofmeland@Feb 15 2006, 01:09 AM
I thought it did offer HEC qualification!!!
I'm pretty sure it does for the English clubs should one win it but if Llanelli win then that won't qualify them for Europe it will be their league position that does.
 
Well that seems slightly unfair, how can that be a fair competion if only one countries team get the true prize from the competion, i would honestly say i couldnt see the reasons for the welsh teams playing in the competion, i suppose they are actually playing to try raise the level of their games... but it still wouldnt be worth the addition of the extra games, i feel...
 
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