The England manager Clive Woodward will today address a meeting of the 12 Premiership rugby directors and urge that elite players be given an 11-week break between seasons.
He will take a number of his England squad to the gathering at Twickenham as the countdown to next year's World Cup starts in earnest and he yesterday appeased some club owners who had been complaining about player burn-out by naming only one of the 19 English players that went to Australia with the Lions last summer in his squad for next month's one-Test tour to Argentina.
Woodward has had his hands tied this month by the England Rugby Ltd rule which stipulates that a player may make no more than 32 appearances in a calendar year, with a maximum of 10 for England. August 30 marks the start of the next Premiership season and England will play 14 Test matches in the 12 months after that, including two against both New Zealand and Australia, and some players will be fortunate if they get an 11-day break never mind one of 11 weeks with the World Cup starting the following October.
"We expect the southern hemisphere to field their strongest sides against us at Twickenham next November and they expect us to take our best players when we tour their countries," said Woodward. "The clubs have been very supportive. It is very important that the elite players have a proper off-season of 11 weeks."
Woodward named 14 uncapped players in his squad for the two-match tour to Argentina and only three of the 30 have figured regularly for England this season: the captain Phil Vickery, the one Lion from last year in the party, the hooker Steve Thompson and the lock Ben Kay.
Such is the strength of the resources at Woodward's disposal that he said he was confident of winning the Test against the Pumas even though 23 full internationals will not be making the trip, not including the rugby league convert Henry Paul.
"Sunday's victory over the Barbarians filled me with belief," said Woodward. "When we took a weakened squad to the southern hemisphere in 1998, we came unstuck but I would fancy this squad against the All Blacks."
· Jason Robinson, Sale's England full-back, was last night voted the Zurich Premiership player-of-the year in a poll of his 400 fellow professionals. Richard Cockerill, Leicester's former England hooker, has signed a two-year deal with France's Montferrand.
England squad: Backs: Appleford (London Irish), Christophers (Bristol), Cueto (Sale), Gomarsall (Gloucester), Hodgson (Sale), Horak (London Irish), Johnston, Sorrell (both Saracens), Lewsey (Wasps), Lloyd (Leicester), Simpson-Daniel (Gloucester), Stimpson (Leicester), Walder (Newcastle), Walshe (Sale). Forwards: Anglesea (Sale), Balding (Leicester), Codling (Harlequins), Danaher (London Irish), Flatman (Saracens), Kay (Leicester), Moody (Leicester), Morris (Northampton), Regan (Bath), Sanderson (Sale), Shaw (Wasps), Thompson (Northampton), Vickery (capt), Woodman (both Gloucester), Vyvyan (Newcastle), Worsley (Wasps).
