English rugby’s ‘club v country’ row deepens

ENGLISH rugby’s club versus country crisis has deepened — barely a fortnight before England kick off their autumn Test series.

A day which started with England's Rugby Football Union announcing immediate termination of the 2001 Long Form Agreement (LFA) a blueprint document drawn up by Twickenham and Premier Rugby on how the professional game should be organised ended with top English clubs vehemently opposing such action.

The RFU management board unanimously decided that Premier Rugby, the umbrella organisation for all 12 Guinness Premiership clubs, had "repudiated" the Long Form Agreement by not accepting that a June 2004 Elite Player agreement was a variation of the 2001 LFA.