Union's £10,000 plea kicked into touch

'We support the northsouth game as a worthy cause and shall be releasing a number of players for it. We will pay them their normal match fee of £3,500. To ask for three times as much is really above the odds.'

The Players' Association had earlier spelled out its opposition to the match - which was initially due to be played in Cardiff but may be switched to Twickenham - on the grounds of player welfare. There was never any mention of money, until now.

Ironically, the request leaked out as the IRB announced a raft of proposals to help players cope with the demands posed by a 10-month season. If all the recommendations are approved by the IRB in November, international players will be guaranteed four weeks' 'continuous' holiday plus another eight-to-10 weeks in a no-game zone, pre-season.

It is a splendid if impractical idea given a World Cup and Lions tour every two years.

Wales captain Scott Quinnell said last night: 'This is a huge step in the right direction. Something's got to be done, otherwise the game will suffer and outstanding young players like Jonny Wilkinson will find their careers shortened.

'We realise it won't happen overnight but it will make rugby an even bigger spectacle.

'I've had a knee operation, a double hernia, dislocated shoulder and thumbs and more broken fingers than I could count on two hands. Under these proposals, everyone will have time for rest and preparation.'

Nigel Henderson, the RFU's honorary surgeon and conference chairman, said: ' Burnout is difficult to define. It's basically caused by fatigue, which leads to an inability to perform. We must distinguish that from the time it takes to recover from injuries.'

Syd Millar, chairman of the IRB's technical committee, said: 'Nothing is more important to the future of the game than the health, welfare and security of our players.

'Rugby has become an increasingly demanding sport, not just physically. Reconciliation of the needs of the players with those of the game is a matter of the greatest importance. This conference has made a huge and positive contribution.'

The RFU unveiled plans yesterday for the final phase of Twickenham's reconstruction, a £70million project to demolish the South Stand and turn what was once Billy Williams' cabbage patch into an 82,000 all-seater stadium.

Work will begin next summer, subject to planning permission, and finish in October 2004. As well as increasing capacity by 8,000, the development will include a 200-bed, four-star hotel, an office block and 400-seater performing arts centre. The RFU dismissed any question of the stadium being built with one eye on staging soccer.

RFU chief executive Francis Baron said: 'We have had no such request from the FA and no plans to make this anything other than a rugby stadium. We believe it will be the best rugby stadium in the world.'

England lock Danny Grewcock, sent off for kicking Saracens scrum half Kyran Bracken, will face a threeman RFU panel chaired by ex-Harlequins scrum half Richard Moon in Coventry next Tuesday.