British Rugby Players Moving Abroad

British rugby is under great threat of their best players moving away, mainly to France. The vastly higher salary cap of the French Top 14 league allows clubs to offer much higher wages than Avia Premiership or Magners League teams can. High profile players such as Jonny Wilkinson, James Haskell and Tom Palmer all currently play in the Top 14.

There are a number of players that have been reported to be interested in moving to France at the end of this season. Two being Andrew Sheridan & James Hook of Kooga's Ospreys.

This has worried International Rugby Unions as they believe they have less access to their players whilst playing in a league they do not have control over. In this article I will discuss whether the mass exodus of players is a good or bad thing and if bad, how can it be avoided?

Different International Rugby unions have varied policies with their players and clubs. The regional clubs of the Magners league have a very close relationship with the national team. The small amount of regions give the international side very good positional combinations such as the half back pairing of Stringer and O'Gara for Ireland that lasted for several years. The national team also has agreements with the clubs for player release for games and extra training.