Former England National Coach Woodward Says Overseas Rule Should Be Scrapped

Former national team coach Clive Woodward said that England's "old-fashioned" policy of only selecting domestic-based players should be scrapped, according to the BBC. The 2003 World Cup-winning coach congratulated Australia for "seeing sense" and calling up Matt Giteau and Drew Mitchell from French club Toulon. He said, "Stuart Lancaster must be free to pick his best players, no matter where they ply their trade. It's wrong to say England are best served by players at English clubs." Woodward also said that if Giteau and Mitchell were to excel for Australia against World Cup hosts England later this year then everyone would "know exactly what the headlines will be." Woodward: "When it comes to a home World Cup, you don't want to be left talking about 'what ifs'" (BBC, 4/23).