Anger over ban on English-based players

Scotland head coach Frank Hadden has slammed English Premier Rugby for barring three English-based players from taking part in a Murrayfield training session.

Leicester lock Jim Hamilton, Gloucester scrumhalf Rory Lawson and Northampton wing Sean Lamont pulled out of the session after Premier Rugby (PRL) - the group which represents England's elite rugby clubs - claimed they were not obliged to release players in weeks where there is no international match.

Scotland, fresh from beating Wales, do not play again in the Six Nations Championship until they take on Italy at home next Saturday week (February 24th). The Scottish Rugby Union have cited the International Rugby Board's regulation 9.4 to support their claim that the players should have been allowed to train by PRL.

It stipulates that any player selected for international duty who refuses or is unable to present himself will be barred from representing their club side for the duration he should have been with his country - plus another 10 days - unless his national union agree otherwise.

Hadden, who was reluctant to go down the route of forcing sanctions on clubs, said: "I hope the situation will be resolved satisfactorily pretty soon. Obviously, it was very disappointing to have it happen at such short notice.

"The English clubs have been aware of our training days for a long time, but there was a three-line whip yesterday which caused the players to be told by their clubs that they couldn't train.

"We have been in discussion with the IRB and our understanding is that the IRB have been in touch with the RFU (English Rugby Football Union), and the RFU have contacted the clubs and said that they must comply with regulation nine, and they have chosen not to do so.

"The regulations say you have to give a fortnight's notice. We've given them two months' notice. I would say the clubs believe the rule doesn't apply to them, but we believe it does, so we are going to have to try to resolve that.

"The players were told in no uncertain terms that they weren't to train. They weren't called back to their clubs, but they were told not to train. It's undoubtedly a very frustrating situation. We had a rest day yesterday (Monday), weights this morning, debrief lunchtime, training this afternoon and then release back to clubs.

"The clubs we had spoken to individually were all happy with that the last time we spoke to them. Then came the three-line whip. I'm not sure why it happened or where it came from, but it has certainly had an effect on what we've been able to do today.

"We only heard about this late yesterday afternoon and it wasn't until very late last night that I got phone calls from players with instructions from their clubs. That left us with no time to reorganise what we wanted to do today. That's the most frustrating part of it. We have good relations with the clubs individually. We don't want to go there, but there are sanctions available. How they are imposed or who does that I do not know."

Hadden urged Scottish-based players who might be thinking about moving to English clubs in the future to consider the possible implications.

"The players need to have a look at this situation. The ones who are thinking of going elsewhere should ask themselves if the grass really is that much greener," said Hadden. "Sean Lamont has enjoyed his time down south, but he's a tired guy because he's played every game this season, and he knows there are guys in his position in Scotland who are resting this weekend."

Newport Gwent Dragons coach Paul Turner and assistants Leigh Jones and Dai Rees have signed contract extensions until the end of the 2007/8 season.

Turner joined the Dragons at the start of the 2005/6 season, replacing Chris Anderson in the Rodney Parade hot seat. Forwards coach Leigh Jones is the longest established of the three coaches having been an ever-present figure since the start of regional rugby.