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| | Friday, 31 May, 2002, 07:55 GMT 08:55 UK Woodward's World Cup warning Woodward wants 50-60 players released on 20 days Clive Woodward has warned England's World Cup hopes will be fatally compromised if an agreement is not reached over the release of elite players next season. The dispute boiled over after all 12 Premiership directors of rugby failed to turn up for a meeting with Twickenham's top brass on Wednesday. Woodward is seeking the release of between 50 and 60 nominated players on 20 days outside of the build-up to international games. The England Rugby Board (ERB) was set up as a joint initiative between the Rugby Football Union and the clubs, but the England coach is frustrated at the lack of progress.
"It looked simple to me," he said. "The RFU were passing on substantial funds and in return we could run an elite player programme. "Everything was fine until late November when I went to an ERB meeting and told them the training days I needed. "Instead of getting a decision I was told to meet the directors of rugby. They obviously have their own agenda and the whole thing turned into a shambles. It has been dragging on ever since." The issue came to a head on Wednesday when the RFU invited players and their agents to the meeting, against ERB's wishes. The invitation was later amended to 'players only' by RFU and ERB chairman Graeme Cattermole, but Premier Rugby - the umbrella body for the 12 clubs - refused to alter their stance. A frustrated Woodward insisted individual directors of rugby were not to blame, but rather "the people running them."
"All I am asking for is a decision," he added. "If it goes against me that's fine but we can stop thinking about winning the World Cup. "We will be like the football team, entering a major competition on a 'fingers-crossed' basis. "This time 12 months ago the England team was right up there in terms of what we were doing, everyone was on fire. "The last 12 months have been average. Individual performances have gone down and at best the team has stayed the same. "We have the players and coaching staff to win the World Cup but we are the worst-prepared side in the world. "We have been together two days in total this year outside of Test week, it's like being the Barbarians."
The acting chief executive of Premier Rugby, Howard Thomas, revealed the body have requested a special ERB meeting to "put the process back on track." And he admitted that "a lot of detailed work" lies ahead if the current impasse is to be resolved. "It is good of Clive to make his position clear but nothing can be imposed without the agreement of ERB," Thomas said. "There is no point Clive Woodward and his team trying to ignore the situation and act like King Canute. "With good debate and hard work we will resolve the problems but you can't underestimate some of the difficulties. Uncharted territory RFU chief executive Francis Baron also warned that sanctions - possibly the witholding of central funding for the clubs - could follow if an agreement is not reached. "The elite player squad programme is the cornerstone of the new agreement between the RFU and Premier Rugby," he said. "Any agreement involves a series of compromises but we can't allow this situation to drift on into the new season. "I am always an optimist and I hope common sense will prevail but there will come a time when we have to say agreement is impossible. "Once we reach that position we are in uncharted territory." | | See also:  29 May 02 | International 24 Jul 01 | Rugby Union 24 Jul 01 | Rugby Union 21 Mar 01 | Rugby Union Top International stories now: Links to more International stories are at the foot of the page. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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