A new £225 million deal struck between the Rugby Football Union and Premiership Rugby means Sam Underhill will have to leave the Ospreys if he wants to play for England.

Eddie Jones, the England head coach, had hoped to be able to fast-track the 20-year-old flanker, who played for England Under-18s and moved to Wales to study at Cardiff University, into his squad for the autumn Test series after James Haskell was ruled out for six months with a foot injury.

Jones had identified Underhill as a potential England player as soon as he took charge in December but could not pick him because of the RFU’s policy of selecting only players based in England. The governing body had, though, hinted that his educational situation might be seen as as ‘exceptional circumstances’, thus allowing him to be picked.