The Rugby Football Union have ratcheted up the pressure on Henry Arundell to decide his future by stating he will only be eligible to play in this season’s Six Nations if he has agreed a contract to return to the Premiership next season.
The 21-year-old Arundell joined Racing 92 in Paris on a one-year deal after his former club London Irish went into administration in June. The RFU had previously confirmed he had a 12-month exemption from their rule barring overseas-based players from the England team.
It now appears Arundell must give a guarantee of his return to English club rugby – he is understood to have an offer to join Bath for 2024-25 – if he is to take part in the Six Nations in February and March. This is linked to the new eight-year Professional Game Partnership between the RFU and the Premiership clubs, that the RFU said on Friday will be unveiled in the spring.
Arundell will start at full-back for Racing against Harlequins in the Champions Cup on Sunday.
Foul-play ‘bunker’ binned for Champions Cup
i has learnt the European competitions have ruled out using the referee foul-play “bunker” that was a feature of the recent World Cup.
The Champions Cup and Challenge Cup referee manager Tony Spreadbury had advocated for the bunker being introduced from the semi-finals onwards, but the sporting committee representing the three leagues who run the competitions – Premiership, URC and Top 14 – has decided it should be season-long or not at all. A feasibility study across the leagues is under way, including discussion of having an ex-player who is trained in the head contact process to sit alongside a referee/TMO in the bunker.
South Africa keen for key Champions Cup influence
Investec are the new title sponsors of the Champions Cup and i understands this is worth £7.5million a year, across a five-year contract. The South African-based bank are likely to be interested to know Cape Town is lobbying hard to host a future finals weekend, with the venue for 2025 to be announced early in the new year, and then a new approach possible from 2026.
EPCR (European Professional Club Rugby) chief executive Jacques Raynaud said: “We will announce 2025 shortly, then we will go into a more strategic thinking of how we get the balance right.
“The work we do beyond announcing 2025 is what does the next cycle look like, between the heartlands of rugby and the rugby-ready stadiums we know can do it, and the new innovation, and a fan travel experience which combines the best of both worlds – a fantastic stadium and a fantastic weekend.”