INTRP on May 26, Jeff Probyn bemoaned the fact that the pathway which enabled him to reach the top was no longer there. He had progressed via grassroots club rugby, then various senior representative stages and eventually into the England side.
Other England players such as Bill Beaumont, Alan Old, Tony Neary, Peter Squires, Mike Slemen and Wade Dooley, all from modest northern ‘grassroots’ clubs, could reach the very top, thanks to a properly- formatted county stage. They could progress on merit without being obliged to change clubs.
Newcastle’s relegation means the north...