Rugby Digest/CLUB v COUNTRY: English rugby's club versus country crisis has deepened - barely a fortnight before world champions England kick-off their autumn Test series.
A day which started with the Rugby Football Union announcing immediate termination of the 2001 Long Form Agreement - a blueprint document drawn up by Twickenham and Premier Rugby on how the professional game should be organised - ended with top English clubs vehemently opposing such action.
The RFU management board unanimously decided that Premier Rugby - the umbrella organisation for all 12 Premiership clubs - had "repudiated" the Long Form Agreement by not accepting that a June 2004 Elite Player agreement was a variation of the 2001 LFA.
But Premier Rugby has rejected that stance, as issues such as player release for England training days rumble on.
The RFU, meanwhile, have appointed an eight-man negotiating team - including England coach Andy Robinson - to try to resolve existing club versus country issues.
WORLD CUP: Francois Pienaar is confident the financial benefits of staging the 2011 World Cup in South Africa will be enough to win the IRB vote next month. South Africa and New Zealand are both bidding to be the first country to host the World Cup finals twice alongside Japan, who have never hosted rugby's showpiece event.
"We are very happy that we have done an outstanding job in bidding for the 2011 World Cup," said Pienaar. "The eight founding unions - South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and the Five Nations teams - never used to benefit from the World Cup because the profits went to the hosts," he said.
"Now they all stand to get millions and therefore I believe they will back the bid that means the most money for them."
ALL BLACKS TOUR: Prop Greg Somerville has become the latest player to be ruled out of New Zealand's Great Britain and Ireland tour.
Somerville (27) suffered a calf-muscle injury during Canterbury's Ranfurly Shield defence against Auckland earlier this month, and he failed a fitness test ahead of the All Blacks' departure to London yesterday.
Somerville will be replaced in the 35-man All Blacks squad by Auckland's Saimone Taumoepeau.
