English Lions dispute rumbles on

The row between the English Rugby Football Union and Premier Rugby over compensation payments to Lions players looks set to be settled by lawyers unless some common ground can be found in the next week.

At the moment, a compromise looks unlikely after Premier Rugby, the umbrella organisation for the 12 Guinness Premiership clubs, gave the RFU until next Monday to resolve the issue.

A total of £120,000 (€176,600) is owed to Sale, Wasps and Leicester but the RFU has refused to pay up because they believe the ’Premiership Three’ breached an agreement designed to give English Lions tourists 11 weeks off before they returned to club action.

Premier Rugby say there was no agreement in place and are ready to take legal action to release the money owed to their clubs.

The Lions agreed to pay clubs £15,000 (€22,100) for each player selected to tour New Zealand this summer. That money, a total of £300,000 (€441,700) for the 20 English players involved, was sent to the RFU to disperse.

However, after last Wednesday’s management board, the RFU stated it would only pay for those players “who have been given the full and agreed 11-week rest and recuperation period”.