RFU CEO Backs England Stand Against Selecting Overseas-Based Players

Rugby Football Union CEO Ian Ritchie said that England officials are "all in agreement" on refusing to select overseas-based players despite Toulouse trying to "prise" Manu Tuilagi away from Leicester, according the LONDON TIMES. Toulouse, one of the Top 14 clubs, is "offering Tuilagi a fresh start in France, after the 23-year-old was dropped by England following his conviction for assaulting police officers." Ritchie: "I think the policy is the right one, we’re all in agreement that it’s the right one. It’s been applied in the right way and now we've got to focus on who we’ve got, we’ve got a great squad and the next three months are crucial in the preparation." Toulouse is understood to be "prepared to buy Tuilagi out of the remainder of his Leicester contract," which runs until the summer of '16. Leicester is "determined to retain one of their star assets," with Dir of Rugby Richard Cockerill "vowing to tie down the centre to a new deal at Welford Road" (LONDON TIMES, 6/10).