The talent drain of some of English rugby's finest players is becoming a serious issue for the Premiership, as more high profile players swap Twickenham for Toulon.
The two most recent England internationals to make the move are Lewis Ludlam, 25 caps, and Kyle Sinckler, 68 caps, who both announced earlier in the week that they were joining Toulon.
There are currently 18 Englishmen playing their rugby in France, 12 of which have caps for England. Some of the highest profile names include Jonathan Joseph (Biarritz), Jack Nowell (La Rochelle), and Joe Marchant (Stade Francais), all of whom made appearances at either the 2019 or 2023 World Cups for England.
The terrifying part for English rugby, is that the exodus is far from over. Billy Vunipola is on the brink of completing a move to Montpellier, whilst his brother Mako might well join him too. Manu Tualagi has also recently announced he will move to Bayonne in the summer, ending his illustrious England career too.
Former England captain Owen Farrell is joining Racing 92. This effectively ends the talismanic fly-half's England career after 112 caps, but does not rule him out of the Lions tour next year. The number of confirmed English players in France for next season now stands at 25, and no doubt there will be many more players to make the short trip over the Channel in the coming months.
Why is this happening?
Essentially, the rule from the RFU that states players playing outside of the English Premiership cannot play for England is not working. Whether patriotism is dying, I'm not sure, but clearly players are not afraid to choose a higher pay check and nicer weather over pulling on the white shirt at Twickenham.
The rule is designed to keep England's best talent in the country, improving the quality of the Premiership and attracting the interest of those around the country, and around the world too. More eyes on the Premiership, means more funding for the clubs, which they desperately need.
I have spoken in the past about the dire situation of English rugby, and this is one of the consequences.
Why would players stay in a league where three teams have gone into administration in the last 18 months? Why would players stay in a league where every single club ran at a loss last season?
Salaries in the league are declining, despite the salary cap being dubiously raised. The same cannot be said for the French league, where its financial stability is demonstrated in the lucrativeness of the contracts offered to their players.
If English players are being under appreciated in their contracts with English clubs, then there is absolutely no reason why they shouldn't make a move abroad.
What needs to change is the RFU rule which prevents players abroad from playing for the national team. You could almost field an entire XV of ex-England internationals that will be playing in France next year.
The conundrum for the RFU is whether they attempt to prioritise the success of the Premiership, or prioritise the success of England Rugby. If you allow players that move abroad and away from the English Premiership to then continue to play for England, then you run the risk of even more of the top players in the league jumping ship to play abroad, knowing it doesn't affect their chances at International rugby.
On the switch side, keep the rule as it is, and you are restricting your national team from performing to the best of its potential ability. If England could still select the likes of Owen Farrell, Jonathan Joseph, Joe Marchant, Sam Simmonds, Jack Willis, Henry Arundell, and Lewis Ludlam, then I am sure that they would, and the England team would be better off for it.
Ultimately, it's another decision that the RFU have on their hands as they continue to lose the financial battle in English rugby. On the pitch, things appear more than fine in the Premiership, as the league ramps up towards its finale in June with just five points separating second from seventh in the table, and high scoring thrillers from this weekend are keeping fans thoroughly entertained.
Let's just hope for the sake of English rugby that either players see the pride in pulling on the shirt at Twickenham, or the RFU can find an alternative way to stem the flow of the exodus to France.
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