Rugby: England's leading players have been branded mercenaries by the International Rugby Board as fresh calls were made for November's meeting between the hemispheres at Twickenham to be abandoned.
The International Rugby Players' Association, whose members come from England, France, New Zealand, South Africa and Australia, is boycotting the event which has been arranged to raise money for developing nations.
The November 30th date coincides with a round of the Zurich Premiership while the Celtic League quarter-finals are being held that day. The English clubs have refused to release their players while the England manager Clive Woodward has turned down an invitation to take charge of the Northern Hemisphere team.
"The board should cancel the game," said Damian Hopley, chief executive of the England Rugby Players' Association. "Things are turning nasty and we have had a fax from Chris Rea (IRB communications manager) threatening to expose us as money-grabbers.
"He refers to a meeting we had with the board at the beginning of the month when, as a yardstick, we suggested the players be paid £10,000 each with a win bonus going to the fund for the developing unions. We also suggested the IRB make a donation to the IRPA. We were not making a demand because Premier Rugby had not agreed anything."
Guardian Service
