KiwiRooster says...

It has been confirmed that this period in the middle of the Six Nations is not part of the international calendar issued by the IRB. Therefore the only way the RFU could prevent Haskell to return to his club in France is if a contract has been signed between the two parties. This is not the case according to Guazzini. Let see what happens next. It is only a pity for the game of rugby that the RFU does not return the favor to Stade Francais. By preventing Haskell to return for the match against Toulouse, they certainly intend to force the player to leave from his current club. There is little chance Guazzini will accept to release Haskell again between the international windows, and ultimately Johnson will not select him for that reason. So Haskell will have to chose whether to stay in France or return in England. This is all the more pernicious from the RFU since on that same period the English internationals are returning to their English clubs anyway. The RFU is obviously making an example of Haskell and at the end only the player lose in the story. Even though Haskell wants to play against Toulouse, his opinion does not seem to count for much. Martin Johnson and Rob Andrew have everything to learn when it comes to the spirit of camaraderie. In the meantime, the FFR and Marc Lievremont have also released the French internationals who are back to their clubs. When Dupuy was playing at Leicester and for France in the Six Nations last year, the FFR never opposed to his return in club. Consequently, Dupuy played both matches for the Leicester Tigers on Feb 15th against the London Wasps and on March 7th against Gloucester. This was right in the middle of the Six Nations. As I said before, it would be nice to see the bloody Poms returning a favor once in a while. And some people say the French are arrogant...

Posted 00:27 03rd March 2010