Exodus From the Magners League

Since Warren Gatland's announcement that players outside of the Magners League will be looked at less favourably when selecting squads, there seems to have been a large number of players moving out of the Welsh sides. Henson, Hook, Byrne and now Craig Mitchell have all announced that they will be playing in different countries from next season.

Is this an idictment that the regions system is failing in Wales, or do the players now have such little 'respect' for the national team and coach that they would rather chase the money, even if risking their international place?

The problem for Gatland is that the players moving are of a good quality and Wales don't have the strength in depth to replace them. Should he stick to his guns and look to select Welsh based players first, or will he be forced to select the best regardless of where they are playing?

Enforcer. This is probably only a blip and at the present it only affects my team the Ospreys. That possibly says more about that region than it does about ALL the regions, however I'm not a huge admirer of the Gat way and I do detect a feeling of disaffection with his methods. Gareth Llewelyn articulated it on Thursdays ScrumV, and I'm sure he spoke for a number of players, when he said that under Scott Johnson and earlier, Steve Hansen, no criticism was ever made public of any player, he said the finger was never pointed.
The best example I can see is Ryan Jones. The Ospreys, aware that Gatland was thinking about his captain, stripped Ryan of the job with the Ospreys, their view was that then without the pressure of that job he could do a better job with Wales. but then Gatland not only sacked Ryan but dropped the guy. How much humble pie did he eat when Ryan returned?
There have been a number of players who have been targetted for criticism over the last couple of years, and strangely many have left to ply their trade elsewhere, making me think that they think that the future for them with Wales is over and better big bucks than wait for the call that doesn't come.
Just my view.

That makes sense, and with the rumours of AWJ on his way to France as well it does look more like an Osprey's problem than one for all the teams.

Personally, I am more than happy for players to move abroad providing they have release clauses written into their contracts, as Stephen Jones came back a much improved player after being in France for a couple of seasons. If similar improvements are made in the current exodus, I'd be tempted to set up a fifth region in the south of France! The derbies would be fun if nothing else