Geoff’s a Lion
SUNDAY EXPRESS Business Editor Geoff Ho proudly shows off a British and Irish Lions shirt, signed by skipper Sam Warburton on behalf of the Lions with the message: ‘To Geoff Ho, You are a true hero.’
The Lions heard how unarmed Geoff confronted the London Bridge terrorists in June after watching the opening game of the Lions tour of New Zealand and the Champions League final in a nearby bar.
Geoff, who is a martial arts expert specialising in Kung Fu and kickboxing, was slashed in the neck, arms and stomach and was in intensive care in hospital. Happily, he is now back at work and when told of the Lions’ admiration he said: “This is unbelievable.” WALES are in a pickle. Gatland’s Law, the mechanism by which the WRU attempts to keep Wales internationals in Wales, is on the point of collapse.
The tipping point was reached last week when Rhys Webb announced he was leaving the Ospreys and heading to France to play his rugby next season.
With Dan Biggar also exiting the Liberty Stadium and on his way to Northampton it means Wales will have no choice but to change the system or go into the next World Cup with an understrength side.
As things stand, Warren Gatland is allowed to pick four players who choose to play overseas having turned down an offer from one of the Welsh regions. That number will be crunched to two from the 2019-20 season.
With Webb and Biggar, Wales’s first-choice half-backs, joining a list that already includes George North, Liam Williams, Taulupe Faletau and Jamie Roberts, the maths just will not add up.
The deterrent of non-selection that lies at the heart of Wales’s Senior Player Selection Policy has failed. It is time for change of direction.
The alternatives used by other countries to persuade their players to stay at home vary. At one extreme is England’s blanket ban on picking players from outside the Aviva Premiership save for ‘exceptional circumstances’ – a clause that has not been invoked.
This approach led to disquiet over the exclusion of Francebased Steffon Armitage before the last World Cup, but on the whole it has worked well, with few players slipping through the net.
At the other end, is Scotland’s laissez-faire policy that allows their players to play where they want. While this keeps some of the high earners off the SRU’s books,