It still is the pinnacle, and it's an annoying message the media is pushing
Will Carling is from a time where you didn't have the massive money France and Japan could offer so he can say that the lure of the country was strong because literally no one else was fishing for him lol.
I'll put it this way how many of those who moved would be turning down England international selection if we changed our eligibility selection?
How many Irish players would stay in Ireland if they didn't have tax incentives
playing for England is still the pinnacle otherwise so many more would leave
You're right that there weren't the other options back in the day. But there are now.
England's probably what everyone still starts out dreaming of it, but as careers progress it's clearly more of a career choice than ever.
Players face less job security with fewer clubs, most of which aren't in a great financial state.
Central contracts are coming and it's odds on that the recipients of those will see the most game time, otherwise what's the point?
Great for those nailed on, but if you're a fringe player or not immediately in contention and someone waves the cheque book at you it's going to be tempting and we're only at the start of this change of landscape
Arundell was bothering but in many ways Willis, Marchant and Ludlam are more concerning as they'd expect to be fairly regularly in 23s and are at peak age. Farrell's in a different bucket but he probably had a shirt for as long as he wanted it and he's also turned his back.
Reality of the pro game is that players are going to monetise their careers in the best way they can. If that's England then great but most aren't going to hang around for years on the off chance if there are better offers to be had.
If we haven't seen a total flood to France yet we can probably thank the French JIFF requirements which limit the number of imports.
This is exceptionally harsh particularly when you consider some of the players that have been capped.
