The Wales coach, Warren Gatland, who will announce his first squad on Monday, has warned players that, if they leave to play outside the country, their international futures will be jeopardised.
Gatland, the New Zealander who took over from Gareth Jenkins last month, has drawn up a policy to be debated by the Welsh Rugby Union's board this month. It is not aimed so much at internationals playing in England, such as Chris Horsman, Gareth Delve, Will James, Hal Luscombe and Gareth Cooper, but is designed as an incentive for players to continue with the four Welsh regions.
"This policy is essential to create the best possible environment for players to work and develop through the national team," said Gatland, outlining the same approach as New Zealand who consider only domiciled players.
European employment law is understood to have prohibited Wales from replicating that stance completely but the motivation is essentially same.
"It will enable us to develop a new national squad training regime that is required to return the team to international competitiveness and to remain in close and constant contact with the individuals to ensure they are fully on board with the structures and systems in place to get the best out of them as Welsh internationals.
"This is all about building Wales for the long term, something I am determined to focus on."
Gatland's first match in charge will be against England at Twickenham next month.
The WRU have ensured there is wriggle room within the policy, allowing for exceptional or unusual circumstances. For example, if a Welsh qualified player was born in England and came to the fore playing in the English Premiership the selection policy may not apply to him.
"The strategy will be under constant review because we will want to remain alert to any issues which affect our selection plans," added Gatland.
Welsh Rugby Union chief executive Roger Lewis is convinced the policy, while harsh, will ultimately serve to benefit Welsh rugby at both international and regional level.
"Our ultimate aim is to ensure rugby remains and thrives as our national sport, and to achieve that in the current environment tough decisions have to be made."
Meanwhile, South Africa's first black international rugby coach Peter de Villiers said yesterday that players would continue to be picked on rugby criteria. De Villiers, successor to World Cup-winning coach Jake White, was addressing fears that his appointment could mean the break-up of the predominantly white Springboks team.
"There is no free ticket for any black player in this country to become a Springbok," he said. "I never worked with black players and I never worked with white players. I only worked with rugby players throughout my career. At one stage there was a great bunch of black players I coached, at another stage there was a great bunch of white players."
He added: "I never, never see colour and a lot of players can tell you that."
De Villiers's first Test in charge will be against Wales on June 7th.
Changes in the laws of rugby are to be given a trial at all levels of the game in South Africa from next month, the International Rugby Board (IRB) said yesterday.
The IRB has already conducted a series of trials on the Experimental Law Variations (ELVs) at lower levels in South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, England and Scotland.
Among the key changes are that penalty kicks will be given only for offside, foul play and deliberate or persistent infringements and all other offences will now merit only a free kick.
Defending players can now pull down a maul, there will be no maximum number of players in a lineout, though there must be a minimum of two, while a try can now be scored if a player touches a corner post before grounding the ball.
France captain Raphael Ibanez, who confirmed yesterday he was retiring for the second time from international rugby, said he would carry on playing with Wasps at least until the end of the season.
The 34-year-old hooker said Wasps had offered him an extension to his contract for next season as a player and member of the coaching staff. "French Federation chairman Bernard Lapasset also said he wanted to discuss a long-term project with me," he added. "I haven't made up my mind yet."
Italy coach Nick Mallett has left experienced duo Paul Griffen and Fabio Ongaro out of his 32-man squad in preparation for the Six Nations.
Mallet, who succeeded Pierre Berbizier in charge of the Azzurri in November, has given Rovigo lock Tommasso Reato his first call-up to the national team. Italy open their Six Nations campaign against Ireland in Dublin on February 2nd.
ITALY SQUAD:Backs: M Bergamasco, D Bortolussi, G Canale, P Canavosio, D Dallan, E Galon, A Marcato, A Masi, L Nitoglia, E Patrizio, R Pez, S Picone, M Pratichetti, K Robertson, Ao Sgarbi, P Travagli. Forwards: R Barbieri, M Bergamasco, M Bortolami, M Castrogiovanni, C Antonio Del Fava, S Dellape, C Festuccia, L Ghiraldini, A Lo Cicero, C Nieto, S Parisse, A Pavanello, S Perugini, T Reato, J Sole, A Zanni.
