Wales' four professional sides won't see any of their Welsh internationals for this weekend's round of United Rugby Championship fixtures after Warren Gatland opted to keep all his Welsh-based players in camp with the national team.
Cardiff, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets are all in league action this weekend on the first of the fallow weekends during the Six Nations. They might have expected to receive some players who have yet to feature for Wales in the opening fixtures against Ireland or Scotland, however that's not the case.
Instead, it's just English-based players - like Exeter's Dafydd Jenkins and Christ Tshiunza - who have to return to their clubs under regulation nine.
By comparison, high-flying Ireland have released 12 players back to the provinces for this weekend's URC matches. Wales could well be carrying a number of knocks in camp, with Gatland needing sufficient numbers for training given his English-based contingent are not around as he tries to fix his side's mounting problems.
Cardiff boss Dai Young confirmed the Arms Park side would not benefit from the return of the likes of Mason Grady and Teddy Williams. Both players have yet to play a minute for Wales so far in the Six Nations. The team's URC clash with Benetton could hold a significant bearing on their push for not only the Welsh Shield and Champions Cup qualification, but also a play-off push.
"We've had notification that no players will be released back to us," Young said. "We've got what we've got. We've definitely got a good team out. We had to be sensible last week as we are down to the barebones with the injuries we've got, but we've picked up the pace and intensity this week as it's a tough game for us. We're looking forward to getting back out on the field and hopefully turning things around."
Scarlets head coach Dwayne Peel confirmed that he'd also had correspondence from the Wales camp that they'd have to do without their internationals. For the west Walians, Kieran Hardy could have been a useful option - having not been involved in either matchday squad to date.
"Yeah I've spoken to him and we won't be getting any players back this weekend," said Peel. "It's as is for us.
"There's a bit of consistency from the Bulls game for us as well. I understand the reasoning behind it but we'll just crack on and do the best with the players left behind.
"We didn't lose too many large numbers to Wales. It's about consistency of selection for us which is good as well."
With Cardiff, Grady could well feature in midfield against England depending on the fitness of George North, but there's a very real chance that some players end up not playing at all during the campaign. In the past, Wales have been accused of hindering the form of young players by depriving them of gametime through the call-up.
"Well, obviously they're missing exactly that (minutes )," added Young. "A lot of players go into camp on good game minutes.
"Then if they go through a long period without any game time, it'll take them a bit to get back up to speed. But if you ask any player, they'd rather be in there with a chance than actually not in there.
"It's a fine balance. We're absolutely thrilled for both guys to get picked in the squad. We're keeping our fingers crossed they get game time. But if they don't get game time, they'll certainly have had valuable experience with some of the more experienced players in camp.
"We hope they bring that back. But without a shadow of a doubt, they'll take some time to get back up to speed. That's just natural, really."
Select your Wales team to face England below:
READ MORE:
Gatland urged to change tactics amid claim Wales players are unsure of gameplan
The radical Wales team Warren Gatland can field against England and the most likely one he will pick
Jiffy 'worried' amid Welsh rugby talisman's decision to leave
