England Counties - clarifying some points

Spring Games:

Firstly, selection for the home fixture against Ireland Clubs on Friday 16^th March to be played at Preston Grasshoppers RFC, ko 7.30pm is from English qualified players who have their primary contract with and are playing at National League 1 (level 3) or below; this selection was made mid-February.  To clarify, this means that no dual registration players are eligible.   As agreed with the home nations, also players who have played for their Country’s national elite team or “A” level, or have held a full-time professional contract with a Premiership team for 4 consecutive years are ineligible.

It would have been great to include a fixture against France Amateurs this season, however the league fixtures for the respective countries meant we were unable to find a common date.  Obviously playing 2 fixtures would be our ideal, however as well as finding dates, we are also conscious of the stresses on players and clubs playing 30 league games a season especially after the weather issues of the last couple of seasons.  We are currently working with the Scottish, French and Irish rugby unions to put in place a 5 year program where England Counties will play 2 fixtures a season against 2 of the 3 teams on a home and away rotation which will mean players can test themselves against the best players outside of the full-time professional game in the home nations.

Selectors cover National 1 and 2 all season and we get constant input from clubs DoRs and coaches as to players performing for them as well as for opposition teams.

Summer Tour

This squad will be selected during the County Championship and is based solely on English qualified players representing their County in the Bill Beaumont County Championship.   One of the primary aims around the set-up of England Counties was to encourage participation in County Rugby, this remains such and are in constant communication with the counties to assist their understanding of selection criteria to pass on to players to be able to be put forward for selection for the tour.

To clear up last season, this was extended to include players ‘making themselves available for selection’, however this was solely special circumstances owing to the extension of the club season and this is not in place for this season at this time, nor do I expect it to be with the winter behind us and ‘free’ weekends for games still available.  This extension was implemented with the knowledge and buy-in of the Counties and was done to not exclude players who would have committed to county rugby had it not been for club commitments, ie had committed regularly in previous seasons and were endorsed by the relevant county – I believe Gareth Collins communicated this very eloquently on Rolling Maul while away in Spain last season.

The way selection for the tour works is that all Counties contact me with their squad lists and recommendations for ECXV once they are in a position to do so, following which the ECXV selectors cover all the County games and report at selection meetings.  Owing to the region of the world we are travelling to this summer and the need for player inoculations – we have of course had detailed medical advice to visit E Africa around vaccinations etc, - we need to select after the second fixture of the County Championship, giving us 3 clear weeks before departure; this also gives players time to get time off work.  We would love to include all games, including the final, before selection but that is impossible when we typically travel the day after the final and players need to get time off work etc…

It is not possible to pencil in a squad before the County Championship starts as we do not know who will be playing before the championship starts; ECXV selectors have of course watched players throughout the season, but form at the end of a long and attritional club season, plus players coming in from lower and high levels to play county rugby, is taken into consideration in the BB cup and all players are given due consideration, noted in the fact, from memory, that at least two players from level 5 have been selected to tour in recent years and I truly hope there are more….

East Africa

This tour will be what I believe England Counties is all about – the 26 man squad will aim to develop and leave a legacy on the game in emerging IRB countries through playing 3 matches – Uganda, then 2 games against a combined East Africa team (a squad of the best 30 players from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania is being put in place to train and play warm up matches before our visit) - to provide a new pinnacle for players in the region to strive to reach and in the future encourage further international teams to tour the region. In addition, time outside match preparation will be spent in schools, clubs etc introducing / teaching rugby, working with young people and adults.  The strength of opposition on tours hard to assess, for example Spain last year IRB ranked in the low 20’s (now ranked in the high teens) should have provided a serious test – the EC team was exceptional in that game to score over 50 points.  The three games in Africa will provide a very different challenge to what players would normally encounter, both country's Unions expectation is of big and highly enthusiastic crowds for what they believe will be competitive games; we expect the tour to be a fantastic personal experience on and off the field in a wonderful part of the world.  I hope players agree and make themselves available for the tour by playing in the County Championship…

Lastly, no one goes into any tour without careful planning especially not one for an England representative team.  Our medical personnel are highly experienced and fantastically committed individuals as anyone who has been with ECXV will provide testament too.  We have carried out full medical assessments on our locations and are in contact with medical providers in both countries - any concerns are being addressed prior to departure and we will as always, just in case, “pack our own parachute” - player safety is our number one priority.  We will give players selected all the details of the tour, if they choose not to come then that is their choice – there is no obligation on anyone whatsoever to join the tour and will have no bearing on future selection…. however as with all tours to date, I expect anyone who is available to want to have the honor and experience of representing England Counties and will be on the plane early June.

General

I truly believe in providing an England representative team at this level to showcase talent and for players to play in a new environment away from their clubs, challenging themselves against their peers and enjoying a broad rugby experience.  For some it is a stepping some to further honours and for some it is the pinnacle of their playing career.  I believe the players get a huge amount out of representing England Counties and whilst that is the case people who support this team at the RFU, as well as those who give up their personal time voluntarily, will always work to keep it evolving and representing these players, clubs, counties and supporters.

I would like to thank all for their support of players who play for England Counties who showcase the talent of players who play at this level – 2 current EPS players, 2 in the Saxons squad and numerous top performers in the Premiership and Championship, as well as those who choose to play at levels below that who we all enjoy watching week in week out, are testament to that.  It is a pleasure to be involved with these players, their clubs and counties and meet so many dedicated rugby supporters;

It is great to see the great support for players on this Forum who represent their clubs and England Counties and I hope to see many of you at Preston on the 16^th March…