Sanderson and Baxter warn lifting England's overseas ban would devastate the Premiership

Sale Sharks head coach Alex Sanderson has warned that scrapping England’s overseas player ban would be a disaster for the Gallagher Premiership, with Exeter Chiefs director of rugby Rob Baxter adding his voice to the argument as debate over the policy intensifies.

The discussion was reignited after Toulouse flanker Jack Willis, 29, jokingly challenged reporters to find a way for him to play international rugby again following his second successive Top 14 player of the year award on Monday. Willis last represented England at the 2023 Rugby World Cup on a special dispensation after Wasps’ collapse forced him to move to France, and he remains contracted to Toulouse until 2029. He has also indicated an openness to switching allegiance to Ireland if he can secure a one-year loan with one of Ireland’s four provinces.

Sanderson is firmly opposed to any policy change that would allow players to collect contracts abroad while remaining eligible for England. “I just think it would devalue our competition,” he said. “It would be too much if players were allowed to take the pay cheque and move to France and then just get the Eurostar over for a bit of training with the international team. It’d devastate the Premiership because players can literally have the cake and eat it.”

The Sale boss acknowledged that some within his own squad feel differently — citing Courtney Lawes as one who has spoken publicly on the matter — but argued the financial reality for English clubs makes the current policy essential. “We wouldn’t be able to compete and keep them on the books if we had to go against some of the juggernauts in the Top 14,” Sanderson said.

Baxter reinforced the point by noting that other leading rugby nations have shown no appetite to relax equivalent rules. “We’re not going to improve the financial picture of the PREM by saying that players can play for England and go abroad,” he said. “How do you improve the PREM? You need your best players playing in it. Ireland doesn’t have a problem with it. New Zealand don’t have a problem with it. We shouldn’t have a problem with it either.”

The debate places Premiership club bosses in direct tension with players who have built careers in the Top 14 and believe they should not be permanently closed off from international rugby as a result. With Willis’s situation drawing fresh attention to the issue, pressure on the Rugby Football Union to revisit its stance is unlikely to ease.