Dewi Morris thinks it is time for the RFU to change its rules on selecting overseas players.
Dewi Morris has questioned whether it is the RFU or Premiership clubs that are preventing overseas players being picked for England.
For the third year in a row an Englishman has been named European Player of the Year as Clermont Auvergne's Nick Abendanon follows Steffon Armitage and Jonny Wilkinson.
Abendanon and Armitage are not eligible to play at this year's World Cup because they ply their trade in France, but Morris told Sky Sports News HQ that Stuart Lancaster needs to pick the best players if they are to triumph on home soil, and that includes the above duo.
“Why wouldn’t you want to pick your best players going into a World Cup?” asked Morris. “As long as these players who move to France negotiate a contract that allows them to be released at certain times, I don’t think that is a problem.
“People can play up in Newcastle and it takes the same amount of time as travelling from Paris, but that’s not the problem. England want to keep their best players in the Premiership, and my problem here is, who’s making these rules? Is it Stuart Lancaster and the RFU or is it the power of the Premiership? If it’s the latter, I think that’s wrong.”
Morris believes the form Abendanon has shown since swapping Bath for Clermont last summer has increased the pressure on Lancaster and the RFU.
“I think Nick is an outstanding player,” he said. “He does make mistakes, by his own admission, but he also has moments of brilliance. He is Clermont’s favourite player and has only been there for one season. He can light up the dreariest of matches.
“I’ve watched this guy many times in a Bath shirt and an England Saxons shirt and I’m a big fan of his. The problem is England’s inability to pick these players in France. I’ve never been a fan of that and I would like to think Stuart Lancaster and the RFU will pick their best squad for the World Cup. It’s just around the corner and it’s not only Abendanon.
“It’s well documented what I think about Steffon Armitage and England’s balance in the back row. They need an out-and-out seven. I would love these two to be included in England’s squad for the World Cup warm-up games.”
