Salary or England? A question no player should have to consider.

Feels a lot like deja vu if you ask me.

I remember watching England in New Zealand four years ago and feeling utterly embarrassed by the way the squad played and presented themselves off the pitch. And to be absolutely frank, I feel the same now. The only difference is that I am not ashamed of the players' attitude off the pitch this time.

No.

This time it is the RFU. The RFU which has so arrogantly held its position on selection that it starved players of earning anything near than those playing France. A position which has forced players to consider whether playing for England or earning a decent salary was more important.

I will wholeheartedly admit that I agreed with the RFU's stance on only selecting  players in the Aviva Premiership when it was first announced. But on reflection I think this was more because I was 16 and was unaware that rugby playing careers are incredibly short. That the players in question had families and a future after the game. That perhaps maybe, just maybe, they wanted to earn as much as they could in the 10-15 years of playing they had before going into a working world whereby they had no guarantee of work.

And it now sickens me that the RFU forced players to decide between representing their country or improving their livelihoods. Moreover, I can't believe that players were openly criticised for going to France and labelled 'unloyal'!

What other sport in the world does this?

What's more, what other nation does this?!

South Africa, Australia, Argentina, Japan and Scotland all have players playing out of their respective nations and yet they all finished way ahead of England.

Now I understand the need to keep the Aviva Premiership of a standard we all in England want. But that is not to say it should be at the sacrifice of the English players' earnings! That, my friends, is due to the salary cap which is in place but I won't get into that now. That is a completely different topic to discuss.

Steffon Armitage; arguably one of the world's best flankers.

Can you imagine if England had players like Toulon's Steffon Armitage in the starting XV? He would have added a whole new dimension to our squad and made our back-row go from mediocre at best to a solid outfit. 3 players make up that vital part of the team. Changing just one can make all the difference. If you don't believe me then imagine New Zealand without Richie McCaw, South Africa without Schalk Burger or Australia without Michael Hooper or David Pocock.

I just can't believe that in this day and age we are forcing players to pick between a white shirt which means so much to so many and a salary which can solidify their future. It is disgusting, old-fashioned, unfair and killing the Red Rose.

MJ