Henry Arundell has signed a contract extension with French club Racing 92, making him ineligible for England.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The winger’s new contract will run until 2026, which means he will be absent from England duty until then.
Rugby Football Union rules do not allow players based abroad to be selected for England.
“He fits perfectly into the club’s short and medium term objectives,” said Racing president Laurent Travers.
“We are convinced that he will be one of the driving forces to achieve them.
“He joined our squad just a few weeks ago but has already demonstrated all these qualities of a great competitor and great maturity.”
Arundell, 21, joined Paris-based Racing after the bankruptcy of London Irish and scored three tries against Toulon on his debut appearance.
He scored a joint England record five tries on his World Cup debut against Chile in September.
England head coach Steve Borthwick is already without captain Owen Farrell for the 2024 Six Nations, which start in February.
Farrell has made himself unavailable “in order to prioritise his and his family’s mental wellbeing”.
The intention of the RFU rule to not allow players based abroad to be selected for England is to protect the quality of the English league by ensuring the best English players play in it, and give the RFU more control and better access to England or potential England players.
‘No way is it a good move’
Speaking on the Rugby Union Weekly podcast, former England player Chris Ashton questioned Arundell’s decision to stay in France at this stage of his career.
“I’d like to know how many players there is that are 20-21 who have left their country and become a success?” said Ashton.
“Henry’s gone from playing on the bench at Irish, Irish going under, gone to a World Cup, gone to Paris where he’s got to learn a new language, playing at a club with a lot of superstars.
“I just can’t see how that is the right thing to be doing right now. There are times in your career to be doing that stuff.
“I needed somebody at that age to like properly mentor, spend a lot of time, put a lot of effort into me.
“You need someone who is willing to put a ridiculous amount of time into kids that age.”
Former England wing Ugo Monye described Arundell as a “special talent” who needed to “develop his game”.
“The steps from domestic to European to international are significant,” added Monye. “The game at international level is wildly different from club.
“Whilst Henry is so special I don’t think he quite understands what’s required from a winger at international level.”
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