Football: Celts have more reason to relish England's elite league
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Meanwhile, England and France would play with the big boys from the southern hemisphere. They would not be winners at first, naturally. They would probably finish behind South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. But gradually their standards would improve. There would be a repartitioning of world rugby, with England secure in a seat at the top table.
This scheme for the future was of colossal arrogance. It was also, I suspected - and suspect still, for it continues to be advanced from time to time - motivated more by commercial considerations than by any concern for the future of the game.
At the heart of it was commercial exploitation both of the Twickenham stadium and of Sky Television. I am not accusing the Rugby Football Union of pressing for dual-class world rugby in any official way: merely observing that it occurred to several people that, if the new stadium could host, not just the odd match before Christmas, but a succession of matches in the new year involving South Africa, New Zealand and Australia, even greater riches would accrue from the pockets of Rupert Murdoch.
This assumed that the tendencies of the 1990s would be maintained, even accelerated, England and France consolidating their position as the great rugby powers of Europe. While it is true that these countries dominated the Five Nations for most of the decade, with England v France the crucial match of the season, we Celts have had our moments as well.
Jeremy Guscott apart, the Lions who were principally responsible for defeating South Africa in 1997 came from outside England: Jeremy Davidson, Scott Gibbs, Neil Jenkins, Tom Smith, Alan Tait, Paul Wallace and Keith Wood. If Robert Howley and Scott Quinnell had not gone home because of injury, no doubt they would have made an equally substantial contribution.
What we have seen of the national sides so far, whether playing against South Africa or in World Cup qualifying matches, indicates that this will be the most open Five Nations for some time. After this season it will become the Six Nations, when Italy deservedly join the competition.
Nor do we quite know what long-term effect the Allied Dunbar Premiership One will have on the national sides. It has been assumed that England will benefit from the high or, at any rate, tough standard of rugby played in the league; that Scotland and Ireland, both of whom have no difficulty in selecting exiled players (Scotland had six in Saturday's pack), will benefit also; but that Wales, who like to pick the boys who stay at home, will lose.
Until the advent of Graham Henry, I should have agreed with the last bit. I have little doubt that the Quinnell brothers were excluded as they were not only because they were allegedly unfit but also because they were playing for Richmond (though Scott has now returned to Llanelli).
I should like nothing more, in rugby anyway, than for Llanelli, Neath and Newport to return to their former glory. The decline of Llanelli is particularly painful to me, though they have so far performed surprisingly well in the European Cup, a competition attenuated by the petulant and unnecessary withdrawal of the English clubs.
But in the professional game the players will follow the money. In South Wales that substance is - always has been - in short supply, except in Cardiff and, to a lesser extent, Swansea, who have emphasised their primacy by withdrawing from Welsh competition.
Henry, it is clear, has no prejudice against players from these last two clubs: the Welsh Rugby Union is so daft that it would have been perfectly capable of ordering him not to pick them. Nor has he any prejudice against English-based players. He has selected Shane Howarth of Sale, and Craig Quinnell and (as a substitute) Barry Williams of Richmond. We are told he may shortly choose Pieter Rodgers of London Irish, as far as I know the first member of that club to play for Wales.
In all this the losers may well turn out to be England. For the proportion of home products of international class in the league is going down. I am prepared to bet that, before the season is out, the proud wearer of the England No 10 jersey will be Simon Mannix of Gloucester, formerly of Sale - and New Zealand.
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