Why Williams is wrong on player release

Tuesday October 26 2004
Backing the English clubs

Scotland coach Matt Williams was a disappointed man this week with the news that he would be left without nine of his English-based players for the clash against Australia as the clubs, not bound by International Rugby Board (IRB) regulations in this instance, won't voluntarily release them. However, we outline why we believe he is just plain wrong to vent his frustrations on the clubs.

Familiar story in the rugby news this week, club v country and all that malarkey again, with seasonal fireworks aplenty as Scotland coach Matt Williams criticised English clubs for failing to release their players for the Scotland v Australia international on November 6.

"It's an extremely sad day for me and I can't understand that type of thinking," said Williams.

"As a rugby man it's hugely disappointing that people wouldn't allow those players a chance to play for their country.

"We knew the game was outside of the window but we hoped that the value placed on long-term club servants gaining an international cap would have prevailed but they are not going to," he went on.

Cue Scottish dirge.

Williams even mentioned the fact that the game is a celebration of the Scottish Parliament and hinted of how the clubs' actions may go down north of the border as some sort of snub to Scottish nationhood.

Although somewhat of an aside, this is a rather distasteful connection to make, another chance to wheel out the populist anti-English bandwagon again.

Perhaps the SRU gate fees from this 'celebration' will go to refunding the British taxpayers for funding the costly shambles that was the Scottish Parliament building rather than boosting Scottish rugby's ailing coffers?

No, didn't think so.

On the face of it, Williams' case all seems very reasonable, public sympathies may very well lie with the Scotland set-up over the 'cynical' English clubs.

However, more cynical is the attempt by the SRU to shoe-horn this money-spinning international into the rugby calendar outside the IRB's window.

English clubs know full well they have to give up their highly paid international players and do so, with gritted teeth maybe, on regular occasions through the year.

Most will already be without their key employees for several games in November but to ask them to go that extra game for erm, the 'good of rugby' (or is it for Scottish democracy, we forget?) is hardly fair.

There is still the widespread perception that somehow the evil English clubs are retaining their players for an extra session of circuits or maybe a last run through of last week's video.

Let's just be clear about this.

Newcastle, the home of the likes of Stuart Grimes, play Sharks, home of Jason White, on the weekend of this 'celebratory' international, a game between two sides battling it out for a Premiership play-off place.

Tom Smith's Northampton Saints, who have lost five straight in the English league and are hovering within spitting distance of the relegation zone, play the Tykes who are just two places higher than them.

And Williams, a professional rugby coach, can't understand why the clubs won't forgo some of their front-line players?

We would have thought their reasoning is pretty clear.

Let's not beat about the bush here, professional rugby faces a massive problem with the issue of the 'global season' but Williams making the English clubs the very public scapegoats is the wrong way to go about things.

The players have voluntarily taken the club's (lucrative) shilling over the SRU's three provincial sides, and for that shilling the club's expect their fair share of duty and return of investment.

That is why it is not only right, but also fair, that the players stay south of the border come November 6.