Haskell row may force RFU to alter policy

ROB Andrew has warned England’s France-based players that the row over James Haskell’s availability could force the Rugby Football Union to change their selection policy.

England started last weekend’s RBS Six Nations match against Ireland with three players based in the Top 14 – Haskell, Jonny Wilkinson and Riki Flutey.

The RFU made availability for all England commitments a condition of selection for any player who left the Guinness Premiership for lucrative club contract in France last summer.

Stade Francais have insisted this week that no agreement is in place for Haskell and they demanded the flanker return to Paris for today’s showdown with Toulouse.

With the World Cup looming at the end of next season, Andrew, England’s elite rugby director, is anxious to avoid any conflicts which could derail the squad’s preparations.

Andrew said: “When we made all these calls last July about whether we should involve the French players we knew that at some stage this might happen.

“We took the decision as the RFU not to have a policy which said we would not pick players who went to France. That is under review at any stage.

“We have to be absolutely clear about the circumstances under which players will be considered for England. We have to make sure that going into next season and World Cup year that this is all covered off. We can’t have a situation where we have all sorts of fights and compromises. We had plenty of those with the English clubs and do not want them again.”

Meanwhile, England are hopeful that lock Simon Shaw will recover from a shoulder injury in time to play against France in Paris on 20 March. Shaw is unlikely to face Scotland a week today after injuring his left shoulder against Ireland but an MRI scan gave hope of a swift return after showing no additional damage.

Full-back Delon Armitage suffered a rib injury in the same game last weekend and his progress remains under review.