Mike Brown, of Wales Online, talks to Lee Byrne following his move to France and gets his view on the seemingly imminent exodus to follow him cross-Channel
"Lee Byrne believes the player-drain to France could benefit Welsh rugby.
Full-back Byrne joined the growing exodus to France when he left the Ospreys to join Clermont-Auvergne last summer.
Byrne’s former teammates Mike Phillips and James Hook joined Bayonne and Perpignan respectively – and world-class forwards Gethin Jenkins, Adam Jones and Luke Charteris have also been tipped to make the move to France’s Top 14.
That has sparked fears the domestic game could be stripped bare of its top talent and persuaded the four Welsh regions to request top-up payments from the WRU to ward off wealthy French clubs.
But Byrne – who impressed in Clermont’s 23-19 Heineken Cup defeat to Leicester on Saturday – said he is already feeling the benefits of plying his trade in the Top 14 and believes players moving abroad will not harm Warren Gatland’s national team."
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