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Wigan boss wants overseas player cap

09/11/2005

Wigan coach Ian Millward has today urged the Rugby Football League to consider introducing a limit on the number of overseas players able to feature in the engage Super League.

The hugely respected coach believes the influx of foreigners is having a dire effect on the standard of British players and is prohibiting the chances of talented youngsters breaking in to the first teams of the top division's sides.

And Millward points to Great Britain's relative poor showing in the Tri-Nations as emblematic of this fact and has called for immediate action to prevent the rot.

"GB can't generate half-backs who are good enough to compete at Test level," Millward told BBC Radio Five Live.

"There should be a maximum of three overseas players at each club. That way you can bring youngsters through.

"I know of one team who will have a minimum of ten overseas players next season and that's not good and I think last season there were only five clubs with British half-backs."

Millward was also in little doubt as to exactly what, and when, something should be done to aid Brian Noble's national side.

"What needs to happen is for all the chairmen to get in a room and reach a gentlemen's agreement and - over a three-year period - to have just three imports."

Similar debates have surfaced in several other sports in recent times, including football, which is to due to introduce new regulations covering the issue in due course.

Uefa, European football's governing body, announced in February this year that clubs competing in the Champions League and Uefa Cup will have to include four home-grown players in their 25-man squad for matches from 2006.

This number will eventually grow to eight by 2008 and plans have been mooted to implement similar rules in domestic leagues.

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