Brendan Gallagher is firmly on the side of Premier Rugby in the latest club v country row between Wales and English clubs in The Daily Telegraph.
"The Wales coach is reportedly "fuming" that Premier Rugby, in accordance with IRB guidelines it should be stated, won't be releasing the likes of Dwayne Peel and Andy Powell until August 4 next summer which, by my reckoning, is a full 38 days before Wales' opening World Cup match against South Africa in Wellington. I mean really how can anybody be expected to prepare for a tournament in just 38 days?
"Seriously. Just how much time do international coaches want these days? If Gatland had selected the English-based duo for the autumn internationals yesterday he would have access to them for the best part of a month in November while another two months "together" beckons in February and March during the Six Nations. It's not as if national coaches will be getting to July next and starting from scratch most of the ground work should already be in place. If not why not?"
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