Rugby News: Clive Woodward was last night hoping he could salvage his relationship with the increasingly fractious Premiership clubs after a mini-revolt ahead of Saturday's World Cup jamboree against the New Zealand Barbarians.

Club coaches are upset that, after releasing their international players for the first three months of the season when the World Cup was on, they are unable to field full-strength sides in this weekend's league matches because of the hastily arranged Twickenham clash against the Barbarians.

The match has been organised to help make up the shortfall suffered by the Rugby Football Union which was unable to stage its traditional November internationals.

The Gloucester director of rugby, Nigel Melville, writing in today's Guardian, said he saw red when his prop Trevor Woodman was called up on Monday to replace the injured Mike Worsley in the England squad, because he was already without the injured front rower Phil Vickery for Sunday's visit to Leeds, while scrumhalf Andy Gomarsall and wing James Simpson-Daniel were on England duty.

"I have spoken to Nigel," said Woodward. "The game was not arranged by me and the owners of the clubs should direct their vitriol at those who did plan it. It is not down to the England management team nor the directors of rugby.

"We would not have won the World Cup without the cooperation of the clubs who agreed to release their players for 20 days a year outside the normal time we spend together for internationals.

"I want that working relationship, which is based on give and take, to continue and I hope to get an agreement on 16 release days for the coming seasons."

Woodward added that though the side chosen by him, which includes three players who were not in the World Cup squad and just five who played against Australia in the final - though Mike Tindall was on the bench - was not his strongest, he would have no hesitation in choosing it to face Italy in the Six Nations' opener in Rome next February.

"Six of the nine World Cup squad members who were not in the 22 for the final are in the starting line-up and their part in our success deserves to be recognised," he added.

ENGLAND: Robinson; Simpson-Daniel, Smith, Abbott, Cohen; Grayson, Gomarsall; Woodman, Thompson, Stevens, Grewcock, Shaw, Corry, Hill (capt), Worsley.

Guardian Service