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Release of players for internationals - fair?

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  • 19-03-2004 6:09pm
    #1
    Trojan
    Registered Users Posts: 16,413 ✭✭✭✭


    I was just reading about Henry Paul and Gloucester - the RFU have demanded that he be released by the club for the Hong Kong Sevens tournament next week (playing for England :) - for those unaware, he and his brother are both Kiwi and originally rugby league players ).
    Gloucester withdrew Paul from the Sevens squad because they want to maintain their squad for their final push for a place in the title play-offs.

    The club face Sale Sharks in an important league game next Friday.

    There's a couple of different issues here - the importance of the tournament being one (though I admit, the HK7s is a tournament I intend to make it to at some stage).

    This could really hurt Gloucester. So I'm wondering whether people generally believe it's fair. E.g. it may level the playing field between 2 teams if one has a large number of internationals missing, the other very few. Is that levelling fair? Is it good for the sport, and the championship in particular?

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    #2
    GreenHell
    Registered Users Posts: 2,621 ✭✭✭GreenHell


    Releasing player for internationals is a joke. Smaller nations who have there people playing in England or France got screwed during the world cup. IRB should really link up with national organisations to clamp down on clubs who won't release players.


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    #3
    evilhomer
    Registered Users Posts: 1,464 ✭✭✭evilhomer


    why does the IRB not just do what FIFA do and have international weekends and have tournaments at the end of the Rugby season. or a winter break to have the six nations etc??

    Clubs like Munster and leinster in particular are really effected by the call up of internationals which make up half the team in these cases. Munster and Leinster both slide in the Celtic league during the six nations more so then other teams.

    i dont agree with not releasing players but i do think some simple scheduling changes could make all the difference to the problem


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    #4
    thetis
    Closed Accounts Posts: 15 ✭thetis


    I'd agree with a rugby international weekend. Probably the fairest thing to do.
    Can't agree with players being pulled from their club teams. Though I'm loathe to say anything good about Leicester, Dean Richards and the team really got done over due to releasing players for matches.


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