Has the number of overseas players increased in the Aviva since the new television deal?

It just appears to me that we're seeing a lot more SH players in the Aviva (to the disadvantage of the EQ players).

Wasps, Quins, Tigers and the Warriors all appear to have expanded their overseas recruitment this season and I imagine the financial increase from the latest broadcast deal has had an impact.

Yes Wasps have had their Bond issue, but regardless of what is funding this short term approach, can this be good for our game at any level and does it not expose the failure of the RFU English qualified club selection incentive scheme?

I know we all do (I certainly do) appreciate the skills that have been brought into our game, but surely youth must be given its opportunity and not denied by the short term route to success that in itself shows up the weakness in our (NH) coaching.

Obviously nobody wants the Aviva to become the T14 with all the resultant issues that it causes for the French national team, therefore we need to keep first and foremost our understanding of what is undoubtedly a very difficult but incredibly important symbiotic club / country relationship.

The success of both is undoubtedly bound together and so it will be very interesting to see what is the outcome of the latest 4 year deal?

kingelderfield wrote:It just appears to me that we're seeing a lot more SH players in the Aviva (to the disadvantage of the EQ players).

Wasps, Quins, Tigers and the Warriors all appear to have expanded their overseas recruitment this season and I imagine the financial increase from the latest broadcast deal has had an impact.

Yes Wasps have had their Bond issue, but regardless of what is funding this short term approach, can this be good for our game at any level and does it not expose the failure of the RFU English qualified club selection incentive scheme?

I know we all do (I certainly do) appreciate the skills that have been brought into our game, but surely youth must be given its opportunity and not denied by the short term route to success that in itself shows up the weakness in our (NH) coaching.

Obviously nobody wants the Aviva to become the T14 with all the resultant issues that it causes for the French national team, therefore we need to keep first and foremost our understanding of what is undoubtedly a very difficult but incredibly important symbiotic club / country relationship.

The success of both is undoubtedly bound together and so it will be very interesting to see what is the outcome of the latest 4 year deal?

The overseas recruitment isn't just SH players though. And there's been recruitment from other teams within Britain too.

Pot makes a good point, a large number of high profile Welsh players are being drafted in every season, Scottish Irish and Welsh clubs are battening down the hatches to avoid being rinsed of player quality.

Just look at the Zebre and Treviso teams who were anhialated during the negotiations, 25+ players of which 23 moved to France and England.

The potential positives for the RFU is that the level of the prem rises, and also the championship, where a lot more young English (and recently Welsh) players are starting to be developed.

I don't think the number of overseas players is going up at Tigers. We are replacing some current overseas options with much better players due to the increase in cap.

JP Pieterson is replacing Goneva
Toomua is replacing Bai

Big improvements but like for like in terms of position and two Fijians followed by a Bok and a Wallaby. They've also signed Brady to replace Camacho and McGuigan to replace Ghilrildini. So cutting overseas numbers there.

More that the big spending is going on overseas players but that was always likely as you can't sign players from other AP sides as marquee players.