Premiership's treatment of Lions is a scandal

THE Premiership is on its way to becoming the biggest pariah in Rugby Union. Hallmarks of its blinkered, divisive selfishness, highlighted by its ring-fencing agenda, have surfaced again in its latest fight with the British & Irish Lions.

- Nick Cain

The Premiership owners group and their hapless chief executive, Darren Childs, seem to have an obsession with showing the Lions who’s boss in the never-ending northern hemisphere wrangle over club and international playing windows and player release.

At some stage, the RFU will wake up to the public reaching for the off button as the Premiership snares this sport in another interminable administrative feud.

The latest argument started with Lions head coach Warren Gatland using the announcement of his coaching group this week to warn Premiership clubs that their stance of denying the touring side training access to players in English top tier clubs once the domestic fixtures are finished in June, could backfire on their chances of winning Lions selection.

Gatland’s exasperated comments were aimed mainly at the Premiership’s refusal to release players until after it's final on June 26. This is even though eight English clubs will finish their season a fortnight earlier, and have players available for the Lions’ ten-day training camp, while two more clubs will be in the same position after the playoffs a week later.

Gatland has told the Premiership more than once over the past year that unavailability for Lions training could impact selection. It is disingenuous for the Premiership to say it has not been informed – and it is playing parish-pump politics with the careers of every England international who is a Lions candidate, as well as internationals from the other Home Unions playing for English clubs.

These include Gloucester’s Louis Rees-Zammit, Northampton’s Dan Biggar (both Wales), Exeter’s Stuart Hogg and Jonny Gray, Gloucester’s Chris Harris, and Bath’s Cameron Redpath (all Scotland), as well as Bristol’s Callum Sheedy (Wales).