Overseas players leave little room at 12

IF you are perplexed by England’s lack of choice when it comes to big inside centres as potential replacements for Manu Tuilagi look no further than the fact that so few Premiership No.12s are English qualified.

A quick survey shows no less than 12 who are not available for Eddie Jones, with nine of them coming from overseas and three who are English born and bred, but have opted for other nations Nick Tompkins (Saracens/Wales) and Scotland’s Rory Hutchinson (Northampton) and Duncan Taylor (Saracens).

The overseas contingent includes Andre Esterhuizen (SA/Harlequins), Malakai Fekitoa (NZ/Tonga/Wasps), Ian Whitten (Ire/Exeter), Matias Moroni (Arg/Leicester), Rohan Janse van Rensburg (SA/ Sale), Benhard Janse van Rensburg (SA/London Irish) Matias Orlando (Arg/Newcastle), Curtis

Rona (Aus/London Irish) and François Venter (SA/Worcester).

The issue is that with

expanding international windows, overseas players offer Premiership clubs a far better return than players picked in England’s elite player squad.

At the moment, Premiership clubs may only have their England players available for between 12 and 15 matches a season and, despite RFU compensation payments, there is growing concern that they do not cover the disruption and costs incurred by regular international absences and injuries.

The RFU has put itself in a catch-22 situation because, while it may have secured longer player release periods for England coaches through the crippling PGA payments it makes to the Premiership, unless it takes action to limit the influx of overseas players it will have a dwindling player pool.