MANY rugby followers want to see the return of a clear player pathway for ambitious players within the community rugby structure.
The RFU / Premiership have let adult county rugby drop to a miserable level, resulting in the only pathway being county age group XVs for teenagers and only for the benefit of Premiership cherrypickers. Useful as it is, it completely excludes possibilities for 20-plus year olds, let alone 25 to 30-year olds.
Take a look at the national levels and there are many gems waiting to be discovered, but they receive, zero encouragement. There are players of real talent at level 5 and 6, so there must be masses more above.
Many say there will be no return of county rugby believing it to be a thing of the past.
For 100 years the RFU said that 13-a-side and 15-a-side should never even speak, but but they were wrong for all that time and still are.
Steve Borthwick has selected a good Six Nations squad, but there are so many ignored, undiscovered, unearthed, unused gems “in plain sight” that we should be well above the levels of France or Ireland or at least be challenging them.
Will it take another 100 years?
■ Does anybody know why Rusi Tuima was left out of the England squad? He can play lock or back row, his physicality would be a real asset.
