TIME invariably runs out for an industry that has to accommodate two extremes. What is happening in English rugby is a vivid example. But as rugby tears itself apart in England, the portents are not good for the Irish provinces in relation to European competition. They could be caught in the whirlwind of the two extremes of the game in England.

There are disturbing indications that the English Professional Rugby Union Clubs organisation (EPRUC) is putting pressure on the English clubs with Irish players not to release the players for the Irish provinces in the European Cup. I understand that they have informed their clubs not to release the Irish players. The Irish provinces would do well as a matter of urgency to get in contact with their players who are with English clubs and get this matter cleared up.

Word of mouth and verbal promises no longer count in rugby. Let all concerned be warned Irish rugby is of absolutely no consequence to EPRUC and the ambitious element who guide it.

What is happening in relation to Europe is just one more disturbing symptom of the squalid depths to which the game is being taken. If the current arguments in England were only about revenue sharing, settlement of the problems would be easier, as would the public's understanding of what exactly is going on. They are also about the labour force versus the management, but ultimately, the problems are about control of the game.

The trouble is, most of Ireland's squad members are in the EPRUC labour force. I always harboured doubts about the players getting a release. He who pays the piper calls the tune. There is a belief in England that the groundwork has now been laid for a final confrontation between EPRUC and the English Rugby Union (RFU). Deadlines have been stated, significantly - adjacent to the date for the start of the European Cup. The English clubs have not yet signed the European Cup agreement but have indicated they will participate.

The RFU is clearly a house divided, EPRUC an organisation of unlimited ambition with sights set way beyond controlling the English club game. Mistrust is the current coin and propaganda the weapon to feed the public's awareness. That awareness may well depend on what newspaper you read. The truth too often gets lost in the war of words. Quite frankly, the rugby supporters are mystified by what is going on.

There are countless thousands of genuine rugby enthusiasts who are looking aghast at what is happening in rugby. If the current problems were about broadening rugby they would understand more readily. All they want is to be able to go to a rugby match, hope to be entertained, see old friends and give their support to their club, their country, their province. They are the real trustees of rugby union. Their loyalty is being stretched to breaking point.

There was a time when the ultimate honour was to wear your country's jersey. No price was too high to attain that distinction; no sacrifice too great. What have we had in this so called enlightened age? We have had Irish squad members refusing to train and their agents then seeking to offer explanations and pathetic attempts at justification. One Irish player put it well when he said, "We made a bad mistake." The players also had the grace to apologise but I heard no words of apology from the agents. The game is being split asunder by money and the thirst for power.

We have had the England players refuse to attend training sessions on the instructions of EPRUC. Two sessions for the national team were cancelled because EPRUC decided to engage in a psychological war with the RFU and used the players as the instruments with which to beat the union. That is utterly deplorable. We have a Welsh player whose agent has made demands on the Welsh rugby union that they refuse to agree to, so the player is out of the Welsh side.

Professionalism was never the wish of the majority. The rugby public are now looking to the elected legislators to solve the current problems that were created. The problem is that forces outside the game are now attempting to control it. The Irish people being courted by these elements would do well to walk a wary line. What representation would Ireland have in a European Super League, run by a company?

I made reference to that super league last week and that is part of the agenda and one of the objectives of the disruptive elements invading the game. Ireland's quota in that would be the grand total of one, which would probably reflect on Ireland's shareholding in the company. The sentiments attributed to Mike Smith, chief executive of Saracens should be taken as a warning by the clubs of Ireland, Wales and Scotland. He does not consider the Celtic brothers worth a toss - and his club has three of the Ireland squad under contract.

What we see in rugby is a deteriorating situation fuelled by personal animosities, personality clashes, a thirst for power and very definite attempts being made by wealthy people outside the game to take it over without a mandate. No group or organisation other than the parent union has a right to form a national team. Heaven help rugby if its international future is to be decreed by such people as Donald Kerr and Sir John Hall of EPRUC. Those who deal with them and do their bidding would do well to ask themselves a few pertinent questions about these two very vociferous EPRUC representatives.

THEY both have one thing in common, neither had any involvement with rugby until very recently. Hall bought his way in to control Newcastle, Kerr has risen in meteoric fashion through the ranks of Harlequins. It is quite obvious that they neither know nor care about the traditions or ethics of the game.

The game is currently beset with a plague of mistrust and divisive actions. What happens on the field is currently secondary to what is happening off it. That cannot go on. What I find remarkable about Hall and Kerr and their cohorts is that they have the gall to look for any support in this country, Scotland or Wales. Could I point out to the clubs of Ireland that it is the clubs affiliated to EPRUC who have lured their players away from them. Players rejected good contracts here to chase the money in England. They took the clubs' best assets and there is now what amounts to a pretence to bring Irish clubs into their fold. For what purpose? Does anyone seriously believe that EPRUC gives a damn about Irish rugby?

I will end by quoting Hall and his quotes are revealing. Some time ago he said that international rugby did not matter and that the club scene was going to take over. Then the same gentleman, in offering his support to the RFU over their actions in relation to the Five Nations, saying that without England, the other nations were as nothing. How does he equate those sentiments with recent activities. To the Irish clubs I would say beware of Lords bearing gilts.