England's World Cup hopes "have given a major boost" following the signing of a "ground-breaking" £200M ($263M) deal between the Rugby Football Union and Premiership Rugby, according to Gavin Mairs of the London TELEGRAPH. The landmark agreement "secures the partnership between the governing body and the clubs for the next eight years" and will increase the time that England head coach Eddie Jones will be able to spend with his squad during the season as well as "upping the size of the elite player squad from 33 to 45." The deal also ensures that Jones "will enjoy greater flexibility" during int'l periods so 36 players can be selected for England camps instead of 33. An England two-day training camp "will continue to take place" ahead of the start of the Premiership season in August, plus an additional two-day camp in the beginning of October before the Old Mutual Wealth Series. To compensate the clubs, the RFU has agreed to pay a fixed four-year payment of £112M ($147M), with a second four-year payment "potentially higher" depending on financial performance of what has been called the "rugby revenue share partnership" (TELEGRAPH, 7/25). The BBC's Chris Jones reported the agreement "is worth more than double the previous one." RFU CEO Ian Ritchie said that Jones "was heavily involved" in the process and "is very supportive of the result -- Eddie is very happy with the access this gives him to players." In terms of player welfare, England players who play a certain number of minutes throughout the autumn series "will now have a mandatory one weekend rest period over Christmas." Ritchie: "Player welfare, as ever, is a priority for us all, and so further rest periods have been built into the season" (BBC, 7/25).
