Canada coach Dave Clark has weighed into the club versus country row that has overshadowed the build-up to the World Cup, accusing rich English clubs of being selfish.
The game's biggest tournament has been undermined by the unavailability of many of the top players from some of the poorer rugby nations and Clark says the English clubs were largely to blame.
"I think the clubs in England are a little bit selfish," Clark told reporters at Sydney airport on Wednesday. "New Zealand, Australia and South Africa got it right with player contracts because the players are contracted to the (national) union whereas in England players are contracted to the clubs.
"It's the wrong way around, the clubs can control what the players do."
Because the poorer unions cannot afford to run their own leagues, their best players often end up playing professionally in Britain and New Zealand. A number of top players from South Pacific nations Fiji, Tonga and Samoa as well as Canada and Georgia withdrew from the World Cup, citing financial reasons.
The International Rugby Board's (IRB) regulations prevent clubs from blocking players from representing their countries, but are powerless to act if players, afraid of losing their club payments, announce their retirement from international rugby before they are selected for national teams.
"The IRB have been good to us ... but regulations aren't strong enough and we can't do much about it," Clark said.