'Rules relaxed' - RFU set to extend exemption following London Irish suspension

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London Irish  players forced to take up contracts overseas following their clubs' suspension from the Gallagher Premiership will remain eligible for England until the end of the 2023/24 season.

According to RUCK sources, there is also talk that an extension could be given to Wasps and Worcester players, who were forced to find new employment when their clubs went bust in late 2022.

This would offer England flanker Jack Willis hope as he was set to be barred from playing for England after the 2023 Rugby World Cup due to his contract extension with Toulouse.

In October, the Professional Game Board, comprising Premiership Rugby and the Rugby Football Union, announced that if a club were to enter administration or cease operations, any English-qualified players who subsequently join an overseas club would be considered eligible for selection. The RFU referred to these circumstances as "exceptional."

The most recent instance of England including players based in France in a World Cup squad dates back to 2011.

During that time, Jonny Wilkinson, Simon Shaw (both from Toulon), and Tom Palmer (Stade Francais) were all called up to represent the team in the tournament held in New Zealand.

Loader's rise through the ranks with London Irish continues to go from strength to strength.

The winger made his Irish debut in the 2017/18 season, before going on to establish himself in the Exiles' 2018/19 Championship winning team.

He made 18 appearances in the second tier, scoring 13 tries in the process, as Declan Kidney's side clinched an instant return to the Gallagher Premiership.

Those impressive performances earned him a call-up to the England XV squad to take on the Barbarians in June 2019, and he continued his upward surge in 2019/20, helping secure top-flight rugby for the 2020/21 season.

Loader's form stayed consistent in the 2020/21 campaign, with the winger scoring seven times in 18 outings in the green jersey.

After a positive start to the 2021/22 season, Loader injured himself in the process of scoring one of Irish's tries in their maiden win of the campaign away to Exeter Chiefs.

The talented winger demonstrated strong resilience to come back from what proved to be a knee ligament injury to score three tries in nine appearances for Irish in a disrupted year for Loader.

Australian prop Ollie Hoskins joined London Irish from Western Force in the build up to the 2016/17 season.

Hoskins played 24 times for Irish during the 2016/17 season, including an outing in the Championship Play-off Final.

Following a string of great performances in the 2017/18 Aviva Premiership campaign, Hoskins has continued to show his importance to the Irish squad.

His consistently high standard of performances in a London Irish shirt led to Ollie becoming a London Irish centurion, passing the 100-appearance mark for the Club in the 2020/21 season.

In the 2021/22 season, Hoskins played in 25 of Irish's games across three competitions, opening the season with a brace away to Worcester Warriors and then scoring in an important win over Edinburgh Rugby in the EPCR Challenge Cup pool stages.

He had the 18th most attacking ruck arrivals in the 2021/22 Gallagher Premiership (351) and joint 25th most carries (159), ranking him in the top five and top three amongst props in the division respectively.

The proud Australian earned his first cap for his country in the 2021 autumn internationals when the Wallabies visited Twickenham Stadium.

Hoskins signed a contract extension with the club in the offseason preceding the 2022/23 season and is on course to surpass 150 appearances in the following campaign. 

Joseph, who plays in the centres, has been capped at under-18s level with England and played for Berkshire at county level.

Will made both his European and Premiership debut during the 2020/21 campaign, impressing hugely but injury kept him from kicking on in a consistent run of games that year. 

Upon his return, nonetheless, Joseph set the 2021/22 season alight, making his first under-20s start for England in the 2022 Under 20 Six Nations as well as eight more appearances in green.

He scored his first try for the Exiles in a home win in the Round of 16 of the EPCR Challenge Cup against Castres Olympique, racing away from his own 22 metre line and over the whitewash. 

Joseph also helped Irish in the semi-final of the Premiership Rugby Cup against Leicester Tigers with his second try, intercepting on halfway for a clear run at the try line. 

His powerful running style and versatility caught the eye of Eddie Jones and saw him included in several England training camps towards the conclusion of the 2021/22 campaign, building up to being one of two inclusions in the touring squad to Australia in July 2022. 

The 23-year-old was a key cog in the Exiles wheel throughout 2022/23, with his performances helping Irish to a fifth-placed finish, their highest since 2008/09.

Pearson made 235 tackles in 2022/23 – only Northampton Saints’ Alex Moon made more across the league – and was also in the top three for turnovers won (21).

Pearson’s performances have put him firmly in the World Cup conversation and he has had conversations with England head coach Steve Borthwick surrounding his ambitions.

“It’s tough, the amount of quality sevens in the league is very high,” he said.

“I have just got to do what I can, do what is asked of me for that level of game. It is me against me, that’s how I see it. 

“He [Borthwick] is looking for an openside [flanker] with a high level of work rate, that’s something I am trying to work on and put forward to him and the other coaches. 

“You have just got to have a little bit of confidence and play out of your own ability sometimes. It is very easy to stay in the system and do what you are told, but if you can get out of the system in a way that is going to benefit the team, that’s very important.”

According to The Rugby Paper, Bath will waste no time this week to cherry-pick the best talent by signing up Arundell.

He was a standout performer for the England u20s, Arundell shot into the limelight after scoring an incredible solo try against Toulon during the 2021/22 Challenge Cup.

He was part of the London Irish U18s squad that won the Under-18 Academy League title. He attended Harrow School and has been a part of the London Irish Academy since he was 14 years old, whilst also playing his club rugby for Bradford-on-Avon RFC. He has also previously been selected as part of the England U18 setup.

The 2021/22 season was a breakout one for Arundell at London Irish with his 11 tries in 17 appearances Exiles and England under-20s earning him the Land Rover Discovery of the Season.

Eligible to represent Scotland and Wales, Arundell earned a test call-up for England ahead of the three-test tour to Australia where he made an instant impact by scoring on his debut.

The Rugby Paper suggests that Bristol may make an offer to sign Lovejoy Chawatama, a 30-year-old tighthead prop from Zimbabwe.

Chawatama, the Zimbabwean athlete who gained renown as the Zimbabwe Sports Personality of the Year in 2017, became a member of the Exiles team after leaving London Welsh in that very year.

Standing at an impressive height of 5 feet 11 inches and weighing 18 stone, this formidable prop forward has accumulated a commendable record of 75 appearances for London Irish. His arrival at Bristol Rugby Club presents an opportunity to bolster their ranks with his wealth of experience in the number three jersey.

This acquisition is particularly valuable as the team will face the absence of their first-choice tighthead, Kyle Sinckler, who is committed to England throughout the upcoming season.

Ben White, who left Leicester Tigers at the end of the 2020/21 season, put pen to paper on a deal with the Exiles to join ahead of the next campaign.

White made history when he became the youngest player in Leicester Tigers’ Premiership history when he came off the bench against Harlequins in September 2016, aged just 17 years and 151 days.

He made nine appearances in all competitions for the Tigers last term, having clocked up over 50 in the previous two campaigns.

White demonstrated his experience in a green shirt from the off, and going on to make 25 appearances for the Exiles just in his first season. 

These detailed starting berths in all of the Gallagher Premiership, Premiership Rugby Cup (including starting in the final) and also in the EPCR Challenge Cup.

He scored five tries in his first year with London Irish and proved his dependability on big occasions, including in a comeback draw at home to Sale Sharks, an away win at Harlequins and the team's only try in the 2022 Premiership Rugby Cup final. 

The scrum-half was selected by Gregor Townsend in the Scotland national team for the first time during the 2022 Guinness Six Nations following on from his impressive adaptation to life in west London. 

In a 30 minute cameo, White had a scoring debut for his nation, replacing Ali Price and aiding his team to record a famous 20-17 win over England at Murrayfield.

Reports across the channel suggested last week that the Ireland international would sign with Top 14 strugglers Pau, who finished 12th last season.

Well regarded for his step and his ability as a broken field runner, Jackson is equally comfortable at inside centre. Jackson has been keenly followed by Irish Rugby fans for years, chiefly due to the fact that he was one The All Ireland League’s top point scorers for Dungannon RFC only a year after finishing school. Such impressive club form made an Ulster contract an inevitability. 

Jackson made his Ulster debut in early 2011 against the Scarlets. He was included in the Ireland Junior World Championship squad in 2011 and also went on to captain the U20s in their 2012 Six Nations campaign. 

He made his senior international debut in the 2013 RBS 6 Nations against Scotland and toured with the senior squad to North America. 

The Ulster man was then dropped for a number of matches form the Irish squad, but re-found his form starring for Ulster in the 2014/15 Pro 12 season. A string of excellent performances at the flyhalf position led to him being selected in Irelands 31-man squad for the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

He started all three tests in South Africa in 2016 - showing he is an able deputy at out half as Ireland claimed an historic first by beating the Springboks in Cape Town.

Paddy has improved his game-management and is a threat in attack with natural pace and sharp distribution and in May 2017, Jackson was named in the Ireland squad to tour USA & Japan.

Jackson has played 123 times for Ulster and represented Ireland on 25 occasions.

In June 2018, Perpignan president François Rivière confirmed that the flyhalf has signed for the club on a two-year deal.

May 2019 saw Jackson sign a deal with London Irish ahead of the 2019/20 season.