The Board, whilst respecting the rights of individual players to seek employment and negotiate the best financial terms for that employment, also had to take into account the best interests of the England Team and the Guinness Premiership.

The Board were unanimous in their view that it was in the best interests of the England Team and the Guinness Premiership that the best England players should play in the Premiership for the following reasons:

* It would enable full implementation of all elements of the EPS programme package in the new RFU/PRL agreement;

* It would facilitate regular opportunities for the England Team manager and his coaching team to watch Senior EPS players and to engage with them and their club coaches;

* Maintain the competitiveness of Guinness Premiership clubs in the Heineken Cup;

* Continue to build on the success, strength and attractiveness of the Guinness Premiership;

The current arrangements are that all EPS players sign a tripartite contract with the RFU and the player's club. This contract sets out the details of the EPS programme and includes the RFU match fee and IP rights payments to the player for EPS and international duty.

Should Senior EPS players contract to play their rugby overseas the RFU will expect the following provisions to be included in their new contracts with their overseas employers for them to remain in or be included in the Senior EPS:

* Release to England for all EPS training, preparation and profiling days as set out in the RFU/PRL agreement;

*Release to England for World Cup preparation as set out in the RFU/PRL agreement;

* Release for all international periods including 'blocking weeks'and 'fallow weeks' and the England summer tour;

*The agreed 'rest weekends' in the pre-Autumn and pre-Six Nations International periods to be honoured;

*A maximum game limit of 32 games per year to be agreed;

*'No play' provision within 5 days of a match to be agreed;

*Minimum 10 week 'off-season' to be agreed;

*Acceptance of the principles of the Medical Protocol;

* Provision of data on all fitness and medical issues for inclusion on the RFU's EPAS system.

Selection for the England Team will remain solely a matter for the England Team Manager and he will retain the right to select any players playing overseas under the terms of the IRB Regulations on player release.
The RFU CEO will be writing to each EPS player and to all Premiership and National Division One clubs setting out the above policy. The matter will also be tabled for discussion at the next Professional Game Board meeting on 12 March 2009.

The Board also discussed the effects that the so called 'revenue smoothing' put in place by PRL were having on clubs' ability to retain EPS players. The Board continues to be concerned that PRL has still not disclosed to the RFU the details of these arrangements with reports claiming that clubs with England players are losing up to £750,000 p.a. from their share of PRL central revenues. The Board believed that full disclosure of these arrangements must be made to the RFU by PRL.

Francis Baron OBE, RFU CEO said: "In a competitive world there will always be some movement of players between countries. In many respects this is helpful and beneficial for the development of players and the game. However the migration of a number of Senior EPS players overseas at the same time does reduce the effectiveness of the EPS programmes in the new RFU/PRL agreement and creates certain contractual difficulties for us with these players. It is therefore important that we establish and communicate clearly to players what our policy is for such moves so that they can properly take this into account when considering future career moves"

Rob Andrew MBE, Elite Rugby Director said: "Although we are only half way through the first season of the new agreement, the early indications are that the new EPS programmes are delivering real improvements to EPS players. We are keen to ensure that these benefits are not diluted going forward for the benefit of both players and England. We accept that there will always be some players who wish to develop their careers overseas and we are now establishing the framework as to how such moves could be made whilst still being a member of the EPS programme"

Martin Johnson CBE, England Team Manager said: "I am pleased that the RFU has drawn up a clear policy on these matters so that players know where they stand. The benefits of being in the EPS programme for players are significant and not being in that structure will, inevitably, affect individual players' selection chances. I am particularly concerned to see that we are able to take the strongest squad on tour each summer as we develop towards the World Cup in 2011"