Lawes calls on RFU to reconsider ban on selecting overseas-based players
Courtney Lawes believes England are “only hurting themselves” by refusing to pick overseas-based players and suggests the Rugby Football Union should consider the eligibility model of Wales.
The former England captain is leaving Northampton at the end of the season to join Brive after retiring from international duty. He will be joined in France by a host of current England internationals, including Lewis Ludlam, Kyle Sinckler and Manu Tuilagi, whose move to Bayonne was confirmed this week.
Owen Farrell, who has stepped aside from Test rugby, will be joining Racing 92, where Henry Arundell is already playing, while Joe Marchant, David Ribbans and Jack Willis, who all featured in the World Cup last year, are also in the Top 14.
While the RFU imposed its rule of not selecting foreign-based players in an attempt to keep the leading performers in the Premiership, Lawes believes the policy will
become self-defeating if the national team suffer for missing their leading lights.
“We would lose some players, definitely, from the Prem, but it wouldn’t be as many as they think,” Lawes said. “It’s not like France haven’t got pretty good players there, and ones from all round the world that they can bring over. I think they could change the rules.
“Ultimately, if England are going well the grass roots go well, and you’re bringing back in good players.
“It goes in a bit of a circle, but the main thing is you want England to go well and if your best players are
playing abroad then you’re only hurting yourself.”
Wales head coach Warren Gatland can pick players outside the country if they have 25 caps or more, a policy which was reduced from the 60. Former Wales fly-half Dan Biggar used that loophole to play at Northampton alongside Lawes, who believes a similar system could be used by the RFU.
“It’s a way of saying, ‘If you want to go abroad, you can stay here, earn your stripes and then you can go and are still eligible’,” Lawes said. “He [Biggar] definitely became a better player for it. You’re wasting talent if you’re not picking them.”