Mr Phillips is coming to Paris, Racing Metro app says so. Lions partnership at 9 and 10 then.

So @aa big points for you not pointing out you’d seen Phillips was going to Racing 4 hours before I posted. Most kind of you.

Racing posted that they’d be speaking to Phillips about next season already and that the Bayonne incident just accelerated things. It’s seems he may possibly play against Quinns. On a related note Racing are playing that game in Nantes, why play a home game 3 or 4 hours away, is your Parisian home support really going to travel ?

Just checked the Clermont squad… Davies doesn’t just have Fofana to partner in the centres but Regan King, Benson Stanley, and Rougerie. Even if one or two leave with Davies arriving it is pretty ridiculous the talent some of the French squads have.

Can’t see it happening but he seems to have sorted himself out is playing very well indeed.

Dallaglio said something similar on BTsport’s rugby show. Said he was playing better and more consistently than other players further up the England pole.
Whilst i’m glad he’s got his act together and is both playing well – and playing as a team member – i don’t think he’ll get a look at an England shirt and i’d rather he was with Sale TBH. We need him and his style doesn’t appear to be what Lancaster wants. I’m just happy we have a 10 who can get things going a bit.

A_a, I just wonder if the big name players making the move realise the different demands from the club’s they’re likely to face. They must have it in the back of their minds but I imagine the demands could come as a bit of a shock having had a comparatively easy life in the regions

The current trend to go to France is interesting from the perspective that “originally” you did so on the basis you where giving up playing internationals based upon the selection rules (either written or implicit). So for a lot of players that meant extending their career whilst earning very good money. It was also good for the clubs as they could field strong teams when other sides where weakened by international call ups.

What’s different here, certainly with the Welsh is they hope to be selected for Wales and would seem to have a reasonable basis for doing so. I think it’s fair to say most of the English don’t expect (or even want ?) to be picked.

AB’s cleaned up at the IRB awards.

New Zealand number 8 Kieran Read has been named the IRB Player of the Year 2013. The All Blacks were named IRB Team of the Year for the seventh time and Steve Hansen the IRB Coach of the Year for the second year in succession.

New Zealand won all 14 of their Test matches during 2013, a feat that has never before been achieved in the professional era.

Wales would struggle if an overseas rule was enforced,don’t have enough quality players to choose from.
Just a few injuries and they have to drag them out of the academy to play.:-)
It’s a constant struggle for strength in depth.
Scotland is the same England have few more players to choose from so not such a deal if they play overseas.

I don’t think it is any surprise why the Welsh are heading for France- Money. Since most in the first team are multiple 6N winners and successful Lions their stock has never been higher too. Time to cash in.

As others have already said, the idea of a current international heading over and trying to combine increased demands at club level compared to playing in the regions (less control over rest periods for example, possible management of injuries, increased pressure to play injured, etc) on top of maintaining a high level of form come international time is somewhat new and more of a worry.

The other factor is how much do current england players get paid for playing for england compared to welsh players playing for wales.

The new deal, which was brokered by the RFU, the Rugby Players’ Association (RPA) and Premiership Rugby, will reportedly see each member of an England matchday squad receive a £7,000 match fee, a £7,000 image-rights payment and a new £1,000 training fee.

It is understood that previously they received a match fee of around £9,200 and a win bonus of approximately £3,000.

Have we done the Return of the King yet?

Almost certainly coming back to join Easterby’s coaching line up, I reckon.

@DanW – do you have a link to the quote from Flood ?

I saw the flood quote on Eurosport

They make it sound like a direct quote from Flood himself but I’d trust Duckman over Eurosport’s dodgy reporting!

No English clubs in the Heineken Cup next year! The mess rolls on

But they aren’t self funded so surely will have to toe the WRU line. Surely grandstanding by English premiership teams?

http://m.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/whats-the-buzz-rugby-league-versus-rugby-union-in-code-clash-next-year/story-fni3fbgz-1226777891743

The Heineken Cup thing is a shambles. No surprise really as money is starting to take hold of the game now.

Jambalaya, do you want to end up with a football situation where a few clubs have all the money and power, reducing the chances of smaller clubs ever being successful? Where the clubs have the power over the international game?

To me the international game is still the bit I enjoy watching the most. Possibly because with the invention of scottish and welsh regions there has been a loss of smaller clubs which now play at a lower level.. Progress maybe but not local for a lot of people.

Going forward there could be things learnt from things like the NFL system of trying to equalise the game so that the ones with the deepest pockets can’t buy their way to the top.

Maybe because I’m scottish and we are always going to struggle I feel this way and possibly if I was a tigers fan I wouldn’t.

Anyway. Decision isn’t ours to make and we can only hope we are left with some kind of game to watch and enjoy.

Seems Regional Rugby in Wales is terminal unless they join the EPL.
If the English will have them that is!
Maybe that’s what WRU want,they could then set up new regions with central contracts same as Ireland.
They would then be fully under WRU control and i read somewhere that it could be just 3 regions, North,East and West.
My Guess is they will play at PYS West,Rodney Parade East and Parc Eirias North.
I for one welcome this change,we need to keep the best players in Wales,central contracts is the only way to go.
The infighting between the current regions and WRU is a joke and will kill the game in Wales.