This has been another fantastic season for English rugby. The Aviva Premiership continues to establish itself as the best league in the world, producing attractive, competitive matches, full houses and young talent such as Ellis Genge and Joe Marchant.

Yet while everybody is happy that the sun is currently shining, there are clouds on the horizon. Before the season began I picked Louis Picamoles as the signing of the season and I don’t think anyone would dispute the France No 8 has been a sensational for Northampton. He is exactly the type of A-list superstar that the league wants to attract to put bums on seats.

But now Montpellier want to buy him out of his three-year contract, which in all probability would mean paying seven figures in compensation. Effectively Picamoles would become rugby’s Trevor Francis as the first £1million transfer.

I think that sets a dangerous precedent in two ways. Transfers fees are pretty rare in a rugby context. Clearly they happen. Bath didn’t do a straight swap of Freddie Burns for George Ford. But the more it happens, the less players will respect the validity of their current contracts.

Already we have seen the examples of Carl Fearns trying to renege on his deal to join Gloucester from Lyon, Denny Solomona quitting Castleford to cross codes to Sale and the strange case of Johan Goosen “retiring” from Racing 92 at 24, supposedly with a view to joining Montpellier. Now there are reports that Picamoles has signed a pre-contract to join Montpellier even before any negotiations have even commenced with Northampton.