Eight-year deal ends years of feuding

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The agreement will run from July 1, 2008, until June 30, 2016, covering a wide range of topics.

The Rugby Football Union will provide around £110million to the Guinness Premiership clubs over the period, while a professional board will be created to oversee the professional game.

It is hoped the wide-ranging document, thrashed out following years of bitter political dispute that has scarred the English professional game, can now bring an end to that feuding.

Areas covered in the agreement between the RFU and Premier Rugby Limited include season structure, elite player squads and player management programme, an England qualified players compensation scheme, player welfare and financial matters.

The agreement will see three Elite Player Squads, each comprising 32 players, established at senior, Saxons and under-20 levels.

All senior EPS players will be released 13 or 14 days before the start of the autumn internationals and RBS 6 Nations periods, and they will also have a minimum two weeks' preparation ahead of summer tours.

RFU chief executive Francis Baron said: "I am very pleased to have negotiated this agreement with PRL.

"It has taken a considerable amount of time, but it was vital to get it right and seek to resolve once and for all the issues that have caused 'club v country' conflict through a long-term agreement that is right for the game as a whole.

"Our aim has been to produce the most comprehensive and detailed agreement covering the professional game that has been drawn up anywhere in the world. We believe we have done that."