Robertson on rugby revolution

BBC rugby union correspondent Ian Robertson fielded your questions on the changing face of the 15-man game.

real 14k Click here to listen.

Click here to join the debate

---

England's top rugby union players will be restricted to 32 matches each year as part of a new eight-year agreement brokered by officials.

The newly formed England Rugby, an amalgam of clubs and the RFU, will look after the financial and playing welfare at club and international level.

Tune in as Ian Robertson fielded your questions on the new deal and union's efforts to recruit the cream of rugby league.

---

Christine, UK

Despite the RFU's denial, why is rugby union poaching the cream of league players?

For the last 103 years, rugby league has poached rugby union's players and union never squealed. If people wanted to play rugby league, that was accepted. It's gone full-circle and a lot of rugby league players are deciding that rugby union is a more attractive way to earn a living and Jason Robinson's success has been highlighted by the Lions tour.

We now have Henry Paul and there may be a handful more, but don't think for a moment it will be a big cavalry charge. I think it will be a handful of guys who may switch between now and Christmas and if I were rugby league, I wouldn't be worried out of my mind, but I would be concerned that perhaps rugby union has the greater appeal now. It certainly has the wider global appeal, with over 90 countries playing rugby union and only half a dozen playing rugby league at a serious level.

Ian Benson, UK

What impact do you think Henry Paul will make in union, considering he wasn't very effective when he played for Bath a few seasons ago?

Absolutely right, he didn't fit in and adapt quickly, but the style of rugby union has changed over the last couple of years and it resembles rugby league more now. I think Henry Paul will fit in well.

He's a multi-talented player, and just as we have seen dozens of union players switching to rugby league over the last 20 years and adapting very well, it's just as likely that the rugby league players will be able to adapt to the different code. I'd be very surprised if Henry Paul didn't make some sort of impact, whether he's as successful as Jason Robinson, we'll have to wait and see.

Joe Richards, UK

Will the new deal between the RFU and the clubs bring the players into line? Or is there still a possibility of a players strike next season?

There is no chance of a strike because the players, represented by Damian Hopley, have signed a no-strike agreement. So in the next eight years, they will never strike. They've got deal now whereby they're in negotiations all the time anyway.

They will be paid by the clubs for everything now, including international rugby, not by the RFU, so they've no reason to ever strike from the RFU, from whom they don't receive a penny. All the clubs will be creaming off profits into a big kitty, and from that the top international players will receive their salary for playing for England.

Ewan MacDonald

Does the new deal between the RFU and players mean English clubs will target other Six Nations players and play them to a standstill?

No, there is a general agreement that all round they will make a concerted effort to cut down on the number of matches the top players play. But the BBC spotted that a double-decker bus can be driven through the rules. They can only start 32 matches and play the whole of them, but they could play another 100 matches next season for 50 minutes.

This could become another 70, as a player can sit on the replacement's bench, come on after 30 minutes of the first half, play the last 10 minutes and the whole of the second half, plus injury time. So, in actual fact, they could still easily be involved in 50-55 matches next season. It's a farce.

Andrew Nicholson, UK

Does this blueprint put an end to any future Lions tours? The players are now going to have 11 weeks off.

They're not going to have 11 weeks off. It's yet again total nonsense written in the agreement. You can guarantee they won't have 11 weeks off ever in their rugby career. What they will try to do is give them six or seven weeks off. They will get July and August off, a maximum of eight weeks.

I'd be very surprised if the players aren't back in by September, and if there's a Lions tour or a World Cup, it will be very complicated. 11 weeks is the ideal figure, but the realistic figure will be eight, and Lions tours will not be jeopardised. This Lions tour was a gripping piece of theatre, a mammoth commercial success and financial success, and everybody's looking forward to the next one already.