England and the Guinness Premiership clubs greeted each other warmly by the throat again this week - and you can bet All Blacks coach Graham Henry allowed himself a quiet chuckle.

Once Rob Andrew threw English rugby's latest hot potato into the public arena at Twickenham last Saturday evening, you just knew it guaranteed three or four days of smouldering opinions and inevitable suspicion.


Andrew, the Rugby Football Union's elite rugby director, and England head coach Brian Ashton ideally want the starting XV for next week's Six Nations clash against Ireland in Dublin rested from club commitments on Saturday and Sunday.


The clubs, as Andrew conceded, are under no obligation to comply with England's request.


But could it be sorted out quietly behind the scenes? Of course not.


A leading Premier Rugby official urged the clubs not to be swayed by the RFU's "emotional blackmail," but Andrew and company still had not played their trump card. Why not announce the England line-up 11 days before the Ireland Test?


It was not so much a case of booting a ball into the clubs' court - more like gift-wrapping it and delivering it to the doorstep by courier, complete with complimentary bottle of champagne.


Now, the clubs know exactly where they stand. You pick x, y and z on the weekend, those players suffer injuries, miss the Ireland game and Joe Public will have a fairly clear idea who to blame if England lose.

Follow up:

I am not suggesting this has all been about political points-scoring, but two issues stand out.


Firstly, the Premiership fixture list and Six Nations schedule have been in the public domain for months, so why was the problem not thrashed out last summer?


Secondly, one wonders how Northampton might feel if Leicester, for instance, rest their England contingent at Worcester on Saturday, and Warriors - Saints' relegation rivals - win a game they might not have come close to nailing had people like Harry Ellis, Martin Corry, George Chuter and Louis Deacon all started?


Whatever happens, do not be at all surprised if this issue rumbles on into next week, when I confidently predict England will announce their line-up for the 2011 World Cup opener against Romania in Rotorua.


And where does Henry fit into this little scenario?


He does not, really, apart from some fascinating television footage that surfaced just hours before the elite English game began its latest bout of cat and mouse.


While Andrew and Ashton wondered whether or not the build-up to Croke Park would effectively be reduced to one day's full training by club commitments, Henry and 22 "protected All Blacks" were pictured enjoying a first fitness camp of World Cup year.


As to whether anyone can actually enjoy a fitness camp is debatable, but the All Blacks made a pretty decent fist of it.


Henry, complete with baseball cap and picnic chair, wore a smile wider than the Tasman Sea as his prized athletes went about their work, free of Super 14 rugby until March 24.


A second three-day session is currently under way in Auckland, with another one planned for Wellington, as the players experience all kinds of weird and wonderful disciplines such as boxing, wrestling and saliva-testing.


Much has been made during the past 12 months of New Zealand inhabiting a different universe to the rest of planet rugby.


And to watch Henry's relaxed nature underlined just how at ease he is with the All Blacks' World Cup preparations, knowing everything is completely under control.


Contrast that situation with the one facing Ashton, who cannot pin down an exact training schedule for next week yet, let alone start thinking ahead to the World Cup.


New Zealand might be 12,000 miles away from England on the map, but in rugby terms, it's the proverbial million.


On the subject of lagging behind, what on earth has happened to Wales?


Their record over the last 11 Tests shows one less victory than England managed in the same period, having registered just two wins against the might of Canada and Pacific Islanders.


In the wake of their dreadful performance against Scotland at Murrayfield last Saturday, some past players-turned media pundits offered priceless gems such as: "It's easy to blame the players," or "the players' didn't mean to perform that poorly," and the well-worn "I know those players, and they will be hurting twice as much as the supporters."


All meaningless drivel, because Wales purely and simply could not adhere to one of rugby's most basic principles, namely forwards win matches - backs decide by how much.


Wales were outgunned up-front in Edinburgh, and until they get the scrum and lineout right, there will be no improvement in terms of results.


It does not take a rocket scientist to work that one out, but you sense some people in Wales would rather be starry-eyed romantics about how rugby should be played, rather than getting back to basics.


At the moment, Wales are trying to build a house on foundations of quicksand.


Source: Sporting Life