Category: Rugby Union

Wasps have confirmed that the England trio of James Haskell, Riki Flutey and Tom Palmer will leave the club at the end of the season to play in France.

Flanker Haskell and lock Palmer are moving to Paris with Stade Francais, while centre Flutey is to join Brive.

Wasps have expressed concern at the financial clout of French clubs, who do not have salary cap restrictions.

“In financial terms we are no longer on a level playing field,” said Wasps executive chairman Mark Rigby.

“It does raise great concern that French clubs can now blow the English clubs away when it comes to salaries.

“There is a wider concern that the development of English rugby players will only be hampered as they move away from the Premiership, which stands as the best domestic league in the northern hemisphere, and regular head-to-head competition.”

Reports have suggested that Flutey and Haskell may enjoy as much as a three-fold increase in their respective salaries.

The departures will also concern the Rugby Football Union as from next season, the trio will fall outside the eight-year access agreement between England and the Premiership clubs.

The French clubs have an obligation to release the players for Tests but not for additional training weeks.

The agreement allows England manager Martin Johnson to name a 32-man squad at the start of every season.

He can then call them up for an August training camp, a fortnight of preparation before both the November Tests and the Six Nations, and an end-of-season tour.

Haskell, 23, who made his England debut in the 2007 Six Nations, has played in the opening two games in this year’s tournament – winning his 14th cap in the defeat by Wales last Saturday.

Flutey will join England team-mate Andy Goode at Brive after signing a two-year deal.

The 29-year-old New Zealand-born back has won six caps for England and scored his first international try in the Six Nations opener against Italy.

Flutey was last season’s Professional Rugby Players’ Association player of the year.

Prior to signing for Wasps, Flutey enjoyed a spell at London Irish having previously played for Hurricanes in New Zealand.

England World Cup winners Ben Cohen and Steve Thompson are also at the club, who are sixth in the French league.

Palmer, who joined Wasps from Leeds in the summer of 2006, has won 13 caps for England since making his debut as a replacement against the United States in 2001.

He started the autumn Tests against Australia and South Africa but was ruled out of the Six Nations after shoulder surgery.

Other English exiles currently plying their trade in France include former Sale flanker Magnus Lund (Biarritz) and former Leicester prop Perry Freshwater (Perpignan).

Rob Andrew claims Sir Clive Woodward’s 2003 World Cup-winning coaching team left the England side in a “terrible state”.

Rugby Football Union elite performance director Andrew believes a lack of foresight was to blame for England’s terrible form in the aftermath of their Sydney triumph five years ago, when Woodward stepped down and Andy Robinson, who had worked under him, endured a thoroughly miserable spell as his successor.

Andrew will deliver a progress report to RFU bosses at Twickenham on Thursday.

He told the Daily Mail: “Without naming names, I do want to make the point that the 2003 World Cup coaching team effectively left no legacy to the English game.

“As a result, the elite end of the sport in this country was in a terrible state.”

He added: “I have no wish to personalise the issue.

“There was no structure, no real long-term planning, no development strategy. When the edifice fell over after the 2003 World Cup, there was nothing behind it.”

Lawrence Dallaglio has been suspended for a week by his club Wasps.

Wasps launched an investigation after their captain was cited for allegedly striking Leicester prop Julian White during last Saturday’s EDF Energy Cup semi-final at the Millennium Stadium.

Dallaglio, who faces a Rugby Football Union disciplinary hearing in London next Tuesday as a result, will now miss Wasps’ Guinness Premiership appointment with Leicester this weekend.

The former England captain’s club ban took effect two days ago.

Wasps say they are satisfied there was no intention or malice on Dallaglio’s part, although his actions did infringe the relevant International Rugby Board rule.

The club also took into account what they describe as Dallaglio’s “exemplary previous disciplinary history.”

Dallaglio said: “I accept the sanction of a week’s suspension from playing for my club.

“I acknowledge that my actions infringed the rules, although I wish to stress that they were unintentional and without any malice.

“I have extended my apologies to Julian White.

“I hope that I can now draw a line under this incident and enjoy playing out the rest of my final season.”

Dallaglio, 35, will retire from all rugby next month following a glittering career that saw him help England win the 2003 World Cup.

He won 85 caps – only Jason Leonard is above him on England’s all-time list – in addition to touring three times with the Lions.

Wasps are currently battling to reach the Guinness Premiership play-off positions in their quest for a fourth league title in six seasons.

They have seven games left, and a high Premiership finish is now their solitary route into next season’s Heineken Cup after making an early European exit this term and bowing out of EDF contention against Leicester.

Saracens star Glen Jackson has placed the soaraway Ospreys in exalted company – by comparing them with Super 14 giants Canterbury Crusaders.

Jackson and his team-mates were grounded by the Ospreys in last Saturday’s EDF Energy Cup semi-final – in which they suffered a 30-3 Millennium Stadium mauling.

It put the Ospreys, whose squad is packed with more than a dozen Wales Grand Slam stars and overseas talent like Jackson’s fellow New Zealanders Justin Marshall and Marty Holah, into next month’s Twickenham final against Leicester.

But the Welsh region are also chasing a much bigger prize this season – Heineken Cup glory.

Saracens now block their path again on April 6, when they host the Ospreys in a quarter-final clash at Vicarage Road.

Saracens face a huge task, avenging their defeat in Cardiff – which was largely inspired by the brilliance of Wales backs Shane Williams and Gavin Henson.

Fly-half Jackson has no doubt the Ospreys are among the best sides he has played against – in northern and southern hemispheres.

He said: “They went into the game on a high following the Grand Slam. But that aside, I still think they are one of the best teams I have played against – both here and in New Zealand.

“They are very well-drilled and they have excellent players across the pitch.

“I would liken them very much to the Canterbury Crusaders. You play up against a very well-organised wall all day – and then when you make a mistake, they take full advantage.”

The Crusaders won five Super 12 titles between 1998 and 2005, and they also landed the inaugural Super 14 crown in 2006.

Twickenham top brass today assembled for a meeting that could ultimately decide Brian Ashton’s future as England head coach.The Rugby Football Union management board gathered to hear Rob Andrew’s review of the 2008 RBS 6 Nations campaign, when England finished second – their best performance since 2003.

RFU elite rugby director Andrew will present a report that comes just three months after he completed his detailed assessment of the 2007 World Cup performances and recommended Ashton, plus his coaching lieutenants John Wells and Mike Ford, continue in their posts.

The giant figure of former England captain Martin Johnson, though, is now lurking.

Johnson, England’s victorious 2003 World Cup captain, met with Andrew last week to discuss a possible managerial role.

Ashton has long coveted a team manager to work within the England set-up, yet someone who would have administrative responsibilities, rather than a say in major issues like selection.

Ashton’s preferred choice is thought to be former Bath and England captain Phil de Glanville, but it is inconceivable Johnson would accept such a job without having key decision-making powers covering areas like team selection and appointing coaches.

Should Andrew recommend Johnson’s appointment – and it is approved by the management board – then Ashton could find himself behind the eight-ball.

While Andrew could recommend Ashton continues as head coach, Ashton is likely to find it impossible working as part of a structure that also includes Johnson.

Whatever unfolds at Twickenham today – there is no guarantee that decisions will be reached before the planned close around 5pm – Ashton has been treated shabbily.

Despite leading England to second-placed finishes in the World Cup and Six Nations, there is an RFU faction that do no want him in charge.