Warriors defiant over EQP strategy
WORCESTER Warriors chief executive Jim O’Toole remains confident his club will hit RFU targets for fielding England-qualified players despite the Sixways outfit falling well short of the funding cut-off point in the opening weeks of the season. Figures obtained by The
Rugby Paper reveal Warriors fielded fewer than 12 England-qualified players (EQP) in their matchday squads over the first six rounds of Premiership action, leaving them with plenty of ground to make up to qualify for payments.
Under the terms of the new £225m deal with the RFU, top-flight clubs must average a minimum of 14 EQPs per matchday squad by round 11 of the Premiership, and O’Toole insists Warriors are fully committed to hitting the mark.
He told TRP: “Injuries to key players such as Chris
Pennell, Marco Mama, Ben Te’o and Ben Howard haven’t helped, but we named 22 EQPs in our Challenge Cup squad and that counts in the figures.
“You have until round 11 to hit your initial target, so with three more European games before then and guys returning from injury, we’ll achieve it.
“Also we’ve just had six players named in the England U20s squad and that’s why we put so much effort into protecting our academy boundaries.
“We’re starting to get it right in terms of our production line and this club is fully committed to delivering players for England.”
Newcastle also have ground to make up after seeing EQP numbers fall – down from 15.32 last season to 12.88 this – but Bath are currently the standout performers, having raised their EQP average to 19.43 per match day squad.
Wasps have achieved a dramatic turnaround following the arrival of eight England-qualified players over the summer, with the presence of Danny Cipriani, Tommy Taylor, Matt Symons and co rocketing their average from 12.26 to 17.92.
Meanwhile, Yorkshire Carnegie and Rotherham are currently the best performers in the Championship, averaging over 20 English players per matchday squad, while the other 10 clubs all met or exceeded their opening month target.