Dallaglio stirs up trouble with talk of move

Lawrence Dallaglio stirred up a bit of a hornets' nest when he was quoted in a national newspaper yesterday as confirming that his club Wasps had signed a two-year agreement to play at Wycombe Wanderers' Adams Park football stadium.

A spokesperson at the rugby club said last night: "That is not the case at all. Lawrence must have been misquoted. We have not signed any agreement as yet, the position is the same as it was three weeks ago, we are still awaiting planning approval from the local council to play rugby there."

Wasps then have to hope that the England Rugby Board will approve of their application, because one of the criteria for being accorded Premiership status is that rugby clubs have primacy of tenure, ie they get first choice of dates for their fixtures.

Wasps are leaving Loftus Road at the end of the season to make way for the temporary housing of Fulham football club while their Craven Cottage ground is redeveloped. It is likely that Wasps' intended move will come under discussion at an ERB meeting next Tuesday.

If permission is granted for them to continue as members of the Premiership, even if they do move north to Wycombe, then it would set a precedent and possibly give Rotherham – should they be promoted – breathing space in which to construct a purpose-built stadium to meet all the other criteria such as capacity and facilities etc, at their modest Clifton Lane ground.

Whether he is right or wrong about Wasps and Wycombe, Dallaglio was at least confident that his long period of inaction is over. He said that he will be on the bench for the Premiership match at Sale on Saturday and added that he expects to play for about half the game. It will be his first appearance since rupturing knee ligaments on the Lions tour of Australia last summer. "I simply cannot wipe the smile off my face. It has been a slog and certain people have suggested my career might be over but I am a very positive person."

While Dallaglio is not expected to make an appearance in this season's Six Nations' programme, he is a certainty for the summer tour of the South Pacific.

There is no such certainty in Wales at the moment. Reports in the Principality suggest that the Wales squad have threatened to go on strike for the match against England at Twickenham next weekend. That is compounded by the so-called "Gang of Six" (Cardiff, Bridgend, Newport, Pontypridd, Llanelli and Swansea) threatening to withhold their players for Wales' last game in the Championship, against Scotland a fortnight later.

If the players go ahead with the strike threat then the Welsh Rugby Union could ban them from representing their country again, although to carry through such a sanction would probably entail kicking the players out of the WRU altogether.

One committee man, suggested as much, saying: "If they carry through the threat, then there is a feeling that we should let them go and start from scratch. That is the feeling I get from supporters and it is one that could be replicated when the committee meets up."

Meanwhile, the "Gang of Six" took out an advertisement in the Western Mail yesterday explaining their position. Among other statements the advert claimed: "We have effectively subsidised Welsh rugby at club level and, because our players make up the majority of the national team, we have subsidised the national game in the process. We pay for the players and the WRU gets the use of them for international matches, generating income for the WRU ... [but] ... the clubs do not receive enough compensation ... from the international revenue the WRU obtains from the use of our players ...

"Instead, the ever-increasing shortfall is met thanks to a few benefactors who, through the love of the game and nothing more, continue to prop up Welsh rugby." The WRU is scheduled to meet today.

France, meanwhile, have recalled the centre Stiphane Glas and prop Jean-Baptiste Poux for next Saturday's Championship trip to Scotland, as they aim to build on their victory over England.

FRANCE SQUAD

(v Scotland, Murrayfield, 23 March):

Forwards: J-J Crenca (Agen), P de Villiers (Stade Français), O Milloud (Bourgoin), R Ibanez (Castres), O Azam (Gloucester), O Brouzet (Northampton), F Pelous (Toulouse), T Privat (Béziers), S Betsen (Biarritz), I Harinordoquy (Pau), O Magne (Montferrand), R Martin (Stade Français), S Hall (Béziers), J-B Poux (Narbonne). Backs: F Galthié (Stade Français, capt), P Mignoni (Béziers), D Bory (Montferrand), G Merceron (Montferrand), F Gelez (Agen), D Traille (Pau), T Marsh (Montferrand), A Rougerie (Montferrand), J Marlu (Montferrand), N Brusque (Biarritz), S Glas (Bourgoin).