Jason Robinson believes overseas England players must 'bend around the rules' ahead of World Cup
Jason Robinson does not believe the rules should be altered to accommodate Steffon Armitage or Nick Abendanon in England's rugby World Cup squad.
A 45-man training squad will be announced on May 20th by Stuart Lancaster, but England's stance is only to pick overseas-based players in "exceptional circumstances."
France-based players Armitage and Abendanon are viewed as major contenders in some quarters, given their impressive European Champions Cup and Top 14 form this term.
But the rules means there can be no places for either Toulon back-row Armitage or Clermont Auvergne full-back Abendanon unless Lancaster decides they meet that criteria.
Speaking to ITV Sport, World Cup winner Robinson said:
"Both players that you mentioned have been playing well and it's testament to how they've been performing that everyone is talking about them. But you know the rules when you go over, so if you're desperate to play for England then you need to get yourself back the year before the World Cup, so that you can be selected.
"Then you can go wherever you want after that. You just need to take a year out of your playing career, so the players need to bend around the rules rather than the rules bend around the players."
Robinson, who will be working for ITV as a pundit throughout this year's tournament, also believes any u-turn would be unfair on the players who turned down lucrative overseas transfers, adding:
"If you relax the rules is it fair then on the guys who signed for an English team and turned down big money because they want to play for England? What does that say to them?"
Jason Robinson was talking on behalf of O2 Think Big as part of a new initiative to help unemployed young people gain work experience and employability skills through rugby. For information on how to sign-up to the training please visit Gothinkbig.co.uk