Andrew confident club v country disputes are at an end

8:51am Friday 16th November 2007

ROB Andrew has hailed an English solution for the English game'' after the Twickenham unveiling of a new detailed agreement governing professional rugby in England.

Months of talks between the Rugby Football Union and Premier Rugby Limited have culminated in a way forward being thrashed out.

The new eight-year agreement - which runs from July 1 next year - will incorporate two World Cups and cover critical areas such as elite player squads, player management programmes, season structure and an England- qualified players compensation scheme.

Around £110 million will be provided by the RFU to Guinness Premiership clubs between next summer and June 30, 2016.

A newly-formed Professional Game Board comprising membership from the RFU, PRL, Professional Rugby Players' Association and First Division Rugby will oversee matters.

It is hoped the wide-ranging document, established following years of bitter political dispute that scarred English professional rugby, can end the feuding.

Andrew, the RFU's elite rugby director, said: Disputes of the last 10 or 12 years have dogged the game.

I believe this is an English solution for the English game and I hope we have put club versus country behind us.

It is the first time we have reached an agreement, which is a sustainable English solution for the English game, since the game went professional in 1995.

I think it is the first time that all the parties have fully understood the issues.

It provides a great platform for the English club and the national game, and it will strengthen the excellent work that has already taken place in the Guinness Premiership, the clubs' participation in the Heineken Cup and with England.'' From next summer, there will be 32-strong elite player squads established at senior, England Saxons (formerly England A) and under-20 levels.

Players in the senior squad will be released for autumn international, Six Nations and summer tour block periods, plus a five-day August training camp in non-World Cup years.

Players will be released from their clubs to England duty around two weeks before the autumn Test programme and Six Nations start, remaining with England throughout those periods.

On weekends during the Six Nations window when there are no intern a t i o n a l games, the E n g l a n d head coach can ask clubs for players to be included.

There will also be a strict medical protocol, with England and the clubs using a single computer-based information system.

Day-to-day responsibility will lie with club medical teams during club blocks of the season.

Any disputes on whether an elite player is fit to play for club or country will be resolved by a third party specialist.

Elsewhere, clubs will be compensated for the number of England- qualified players they include in matchday squads, starting from more than 14 among the 22 between years two and five of the agreement.

For the first time, there will be separate legally-binding oneyear agreements between the RFU, elite player squad member and the player's club. This will cover subjects like match fees and win bonuses, and player intellectual property rights.