This coming season will see three of Wales’ finest pass the ‘Welcome to England’ sign, as their club careers see them cross the border for the foreseeable future. 

The immaculate Jac Morgan and the robust Dewi Lake will play for Gloucester, while Aaron Wainwright, with those cultured micro-steps before contact, will play for Leicester Tigers. 

They are fantastic moves for all three, and wise choices given the situation in Welsh regional rugby at the moment – which is currently going through more difficult changes than an adolescent caterpillar being told it’ll soon lose all 16 legs and have them replaced with wings.

But as harrowing as it is for supporters of Welsh rugby to see such great talent leave for England, is it anything new? 

Have Welsh rugby players always been playing in England?

George North performed well in his time at Northampton Saints. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Well, that rather depends on your age. If you’re the same age as the author of this column (nearly 50, yes, I know I look older, you cruel swines) then you’ll have seen Wales export more rugby players to England than we’ve piped water over the border. 

Before the game went professional in Wales in 1996, virtually all of our best players went to play in England – in rugby league. 

As a boy supporting rugby union in the mid-to-late 80s and beyond, rugby league felt like an anti-Father Christmas, in that not only did it fail to bring you anything nice, it also stole things from under the Christmas tree – Jonathan Davies was the theft that was hardest to swallow as a youngster.

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But even in the pro era, and in particular during the days of the big-spending English Premiership clubs, Wales lost stacks of players to teams operating within the salary cap – and to some who were not. 

Dan Biggar, George North, Liam Williams, Gavin Henson, James Hook, Dwayne Peel, Taulupe Faletau, Paul James, Richard Hibbard and Andy Powell all played rugby in England, some largely during their years of peak production.

In that regard, the loss of Welsh players is not new — especially when you broaden the argument to players who have not merely gone over the border, but overseas. 

Before the JIFF regulations arrived in the Top 14 in 2009/10, plenty of major Welsh talent hopped on the ferry to France: Leigh Halfpenny, Jamie Roberts, Jonathan Davies, Mike Phillips, Lee Byrne, Gethin Jenkins, Dan Lydiate, Luke Charteris, Gareth Thomas and Alix Popham being perhaps the most notable examples.

So, whilst the drain of Welsh playing talent to England and beyond is nothing new, in 2026 it is certainly different. 

Why does this Welsh exodus feel different?

Kepu Tuipulotu has opted to play for England over Wales. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

That difference comes from the fact that England is no longer tempting away only established household names; it is also pinching players who aren’t even old enough to own a house.

English rugby has established an enviable route into Welsh age-grade rugby and has been able to lure the best into England in a manner that even the KGB would be proud of. 

The list of high-profile Welsh players who have left this summer is nothing compared to the list of players who are Welsh but began their entire rugby careers in the English system.

 Lucrative scholarships from English private boarding schools, such as Millfield, Harrow and Sedbergh, combined with the perceived greater financial stability of the English Premiership, have made it an easy decision for many young Welsh players. 

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After all, how many Welsh families can afford to turn down elite schooling and elite rugby coaching for free?

On the surface, having players leave Wales to play in England seems like a very bad thing — or at least it would if those players then became ineligible to play for Wales because they had fewer than 25 caps. 

The same would apply if young players decided to switch allegiance and play for England. But what if they don’t? What if they remain eligible to play for Wales, or choose Wales even after playing age-grade rugby for England, as Kane James has done? 

Can you players being abroad be a benefit to the national team?

It is unlikely that the best Welsh talent will return in the near future. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

In a sport where Test rugby largely pays the bills and club rugby largely creates the debt, is it such a bad situation to have other nations pay the bulk of a player’s wages while they still play for your Test nation? 

It certainly works for Argentina, who retain a core of home-based players while still drawing on a stack of squad members playing overseas.

The reality is that key players have always left Wales for England. 

Over the years, Wales has either struggled to match the going rate for wages or, in the amateur era, was not able to pay wages at all. 

And even though it could be argued that getting other nations to pay the big wages of certain elite players is not without its positives, the situation has certainly hit a crisis point over the past 12 months. 

It may be quite some time before players like Jac Morgan, Dewi Lake and Aaron Wainwright see the “Welcome to Wales” sign once again.