The IRFU have urged England not to "commit suicide" over the Five Nations television deal. Noel Murphy, the president of the IRFU, last night urged the RFU to climb down and reconsider their position.

"I cannot believe that England would commit suicide in this way," Murphy said. "And it goes without saying that I am extremely disappointed that the RFU seemingly cannot now agree with decisions which were agreed back in 1996.

"I hope that the RFU will now reconsider their position before it is too late. And naturally, I hope that something can be done about a situation which is truly regrettable.

"Time is not on England's side in this argument. I hope that sanity will prevail, and that something can be done to allow England back into the Five Nations Championship."

A statement from the Scottish Rugby Union reiterated Murphy's desire for the tournament, now only three weeks' away, to go ahead as scheduled with England involved.

It read: "The Scottish Rugby Union sincerely hopes, as do rugby supporters everywhere, that this dispute can be resolved at the earliest opportunity. Supporters who have purchased tickets for the England v Scotland match at Twickenham on Saturday, February 20th, doubtless will be awaiting the next pronouncements of the Five Nations Committee."

Leading French administrator Serge Blanco believes a solution will be found and that England will be re-admitted to the championship. Blanco, the former French international and president of his country's national league, said he expected further developments in the row.

"We must maybe wait a while before it is confirmed that England will not be playing," he said. "I'm sure England will fight against this decision, and from my viewpoint, I think there is still a 70 per cent chance the English will play in the Five Nations."

Glanmor Griffiths, chairman of the Welsh Rugby Union general committee, said it was sad that the Five Nations Committee had again been forced into a position where it believed it was necessary to expel England.

"It is vital for the good of the game in the Northern Hemisphere that our championship is not allowed to fragment," he said. "I hope the Rugby Football Union will give some serious consideration to their position, and that common sense will finally prevail." England captain Lawrence Dallaglio pleaded for the warring sides in the Five Nations row to allow his side back into the competition. And Dallaglio stressed that although England have been kicked out the players were remaining focused on playing matters.

"Our preparation will continue on the basis that the matter will be resolved and England will take a full part in the Five Nations," Dallaglio said. "We aren't involved in the first round of games anyway and we will remain focused on the match against Scotland."

Dallaglio added: "Obviously these are changing times for rugby union and the pace of the game has been very, very quick. We as players can only concentrate on improving our playing standards and leave the administration to other people.

"Looking from the outside it appears to me that the RFU chief executive Francis Baron has come into this recently and it is important he fully understands what is going on before decisions can be made. I am sure negotiations will be going on and I am sure that this is not the end of the story.

"To be quite frank this is symptomatic of rugby at the moment, but I am sure that things will be resolved," he concluded.