He said:'We are quite prepared to concede that rugby union clubs have the right to approach our players once their contracts have expired. 'What is fundamentally different from previous years is that one governing body is now making funds available to acquire players from another governing body's sport, effectively damaging its ability to compete on the international stage. 'As late as April this year we had a meeting with high-level officials of the RFU who assured us they had no intention of damaging our sport. Events during the last few days would suggest that we were misled. 'The RFU receives considerable government funding and I believe, as chairman of the RFL, it is my duty to place the matter before the Sports Minister Richard Caborn. We have to defend our position.' However, referring to Paul, Walkinshaw said:'We have not done a deal with the union - we did not want to have any ties.' He added: 'I don't see this great flood of players coming over. There are so many good players in union that there is a limited capacity to absorb league players. 'I don't think it's got a lot to do with money. Henry took considerably less from us than he was offered elsewhere because he wanted the challenge of playing in union.'
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