Rugby is at the crossroads as the battle between club and country hots up, with the players caught in the middle.

Sir Clive Woodward has resigned from his post as coach of world champions England chiefly because he has failed to secure sufficient access to his players since the tournament.

Mike Ruddock and the Wales management tried to reach an agreement with the regions over the release of players for the national cause, but failed and had to settle for a compromise situation where they now rely on a voluntary agreement.

Ireland, on the other hand, have forced a situation where their leading players have been prevented from playing in the opening three Celtic League games because they want a 10-week conditioning period pre-season.

This happens in the Southern Hemisphere with New Zealand, Australia and South Africa and the home nations are trying to catch up, or at least keep pace.

The problem is clubs and regions in some of the Northern Hemisphere nations hold the contracts and pay the biggest slice of a player's salary.

Clubs and regions are run as a business and owners, shareholders and fans want a return on their investment which is perfectly understandable. They pay to see the leading players in action.

The Unions here are guilty of some hypocrisy, it must be said. On the one hand they urge top players to limit their rugby, restricting their appearances for their clubs or regions, yet on the other they arrange extra fixtures.

Wales, for example, had their three November matches arranged against Japan, Romania and New Zealand, but then fixed up a fourth against South Africa, who have since won the Tri Nations Championship, making it a real money spinner.

And money is what it's all about given the size of the Welsh Rugby Union debt. But it's a bit 'rich' urging players to limit their appearances while piling on yet another fixture.

The whole game is sending out mixed messages with England and Wales going full tilt at their domestic programmes while, in Ireland, they pull the plug on appearances by leading players because they hold the contracts.

Consequently the Celtic League, in particular, came in with a whimper rather than a bang. Two awful matches resulted between Neath-Swansea Ospreys and Munster and Leinster and Cardiff because the Irish teams were without all their current internationals.

Attendances reflected that, the matches were scrappy, little entertainment was on offer and interest levels were low. The Newport-Pontypool clash, by all accounts, reflected a similar pattern.

So rugby is, indeed, at the crossroads and it needs to sort out the problem over player availability pretty quickly if the game is to progress.

In football, there is no question of the cosy club world being broken because the clubs pay the players, albeit grotesque amounts, and the needs of the country are secondary to the clubs, though outrage quickly follows if England struggle.

But ask a manager like Sir Alex Ferguson to release players for a friendly, especially one arranged at a late stage, and the answer would be unprintable.

In cricket, on the other hand, the governing body hold the contracts which means England players rarely play for their counties. How often, for example, does Michael Vaughan play for Yorkshire or Steve Harmison for Durham? Almost never.

Woodward has highlighted the problem while lieutenants Martin Johnson and Lawrence Dallaglio have packed in because they can't take any more.

Clearly something has got to give, and those who scorn today's players, saying how those of yesteryear played 40+ games a season while a 32-match limit is being proposed today, have no idea how the sheer physicality and intensity of the game has increased so dramatically.

Meanwhile, the snipers are out for Woodward, claiming he went because he could see his World Cup-winning team disintegrating before his eyes, others saying it's an ego out of control, referring to his plans to enter football.

He has simply drawn attention to the major conflict now engulfing rugby, and as for suggestions that he can't coach the British Lions next year, why not?

He may not have endeared himself to club owners after his attack on them, for which he has since apologised, but he remains the outstanding candidate and he will be able to devote himself entirely to the Lions now that he is no longer involved with England. But it's hardly the way to open a new season.

While there will be huge focus on Newport Gwent Dragons and new coach Chris Anderson against Cardiff Blues on Saturday, I found the mighty head-to-head between Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh, the European Masters win by Luke Donald in the majestic Swiss mountains and Glamorgan's magnificent record breaking win against Essex much more fascinating than the opening rugby weekend. That says it all.