England's leading players have been cautioned about the perils of using social networking and micro-blogging sites such as Facebook and Twitter during next year's Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.
The warning comes from the Rugby Football Union who have launched the crackdown in an attempt to prevent the kind of embarrassing online outbursts that have plagued other sports. In two recent high-profile incidents, cricketer Kevin Pietersen was fined after revealing on Twitter that he had been dropped by England before the official squad announcement while Hampshire all-rounder Dimitri Mascarenhas was suspended for an expletive-laden tirade aimed at national selector Geoff Miller.
However, English rugby's governing body has stopped short of an outright ban on the use of such sites and insist their stance represents "a firming up" of existing guidelines concerning the use of such sites.
Reports had suggested that as well as a ban on the use of Twitter and Facebook, players would also be denied the chance to sign lucrative newspaper columns in what would be a further blow to their own commercial prospects. But the RFU, who outlined their plans to club officials and agents at Twickenham earlier this week, insist that media work and also personal sponsorships are subject to the same review process that existed at the 2003 and 2007 World Cup tournaments.
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