Saracens’ Mark McCall is the latest Prem director of rugby to question player welfare regulations that he believes have left internationals undercooked for the start of the season. They were available for the first set of Prem matches last weekend, but could not take part in the two rounds of Prem Cup matches before that. In the case of the British & Irish Lions, whose Third Test against Australia was on 2 August, they are not available until the third round of the Prem season. It is understood he would have also been allowed to play in the Prem Cup. “We could have got around it and had a friendly last weekend and played an under-18 team in the Prem Cup.