ENGLISH rugby plunged deeper into crisis yesterday as the elite international squad pledged its support to breakaway plans by the top clubs alter boycotting a scheduled KFU training session at Bisham Abbey. Meanwhile Kate Hoey, British Labour Party MP for Vauxhall and a former front bench spokeswoman on sport, urged the British Government to intervene in the bitter dispute between the clubs and Twickenham which, has prompted accusations that the players are being manipulated.

The 43 players selected by the RFU to make up the England squad issued a brief statement backing the plans of the English Professional Rugby Union clubs (EPRUC) to run their own league and cup competitions and generate their own revenue. After their meeting with the clubs at a Heathrow hotel the players held their own talks during which they consulted a senior partner at a law firm to advise them on their statement.

"The England squad of 43 have shown their support for EPRUC by attending the meeting today," said the statement. "Having heard their proposals, the England squad believe the best way forward for the game is to agree in principle with EPRUC's vision for the future. EPRUC and the players have agreed to form a joint team to take this rapidly forward."

However, Donald Kerr the EPRUC chairman was unable to say when the "joint team" of players and clubs would meet or who would represent the players, though the England scrum-half Kyran Bracken, who is a solicitor, is thought likely to be a candidate. Kerr added, rather confusingly, "if you want to read into this that the England players have agreed to the breakaway, then fine.

Sir John Hali, an EPRUC board member who owns Newcastle, said: "It is very satisfying to learn that all the players have bypassed the England session. We are all sticking together for the good of the game."

However, the aborted training session elicited a terse reaction from the RFU which registered "disappointment" that the clubs have seen fit to use the players as a negotiating weapon. That view was endorsed by Tim Rodber, Northampton captain who "We are being used as pawns - we would rather be playing straining but there is so much going on that this meeting is necessary to find out our position."

The six Leicester players in the squad all made a point of training together before the meeting. Martin Johnson, the Leicester and England lock explained: "keeping" the work going is important to us - at least the Leicester boys have had a good session this morning.. There was no pressure from our club to stay away from England - we made our own decisions."

There are fears that the players" boycott will continue indefinitely: if so they would miss the next scheduled RFU squad session on September 18.

Iain Sproat, the British Sports Minister, was urged at Westminster by Hoey to "knock some heads together" to settle the dispute. "Tough action must now be taken," said Ms Hoey. "This grave situation in English rugby cannot be allowed to continue.

"I call on Mr Sproat to take the lead urgently to preserve the good name of English sport. Those involved must remind themselves in the face of this rugby fiasco of their national and international responsibilities. Sports lovers and rugby followers in particular should not allow their sport to treat them in this way.