England's hard-up rugby league clubs are in danger of becoming the poor relations of the world game.

The 13-man form of the game is under pressure from domestic rugby union, as the wealthier code continues to cherry pick its top talent.

And the lure of Australian rugby league is also having an increasingly damaging effect on Super League clubs’ ability to hold on to their star players.

Young gun Kyle Eastmond, one the rising stars of league’s top flight, is a target for a host of leading union clubs.

The talented St Helens and England half-back will be out of contract at the end of the new season – and is strongly tipped for a cross-code switch. Bath are among the clubs monitoring his progress and there have already been reports of a £200,000 offer being made to the Oldham-born 21-year-old.

The pulling power of the union clubs’ – professional since 1995 – is no secret.

They have steadily overtaken the league clubs’ spending strength over the last decade and the Guinness Premiership’s £4.2m salary cap, compared to Super League’s £1.65m limit, tells its own story.

Saints could be powerless to prevent Eastmond moving on, in the same way that Wigan lost Chris Ashton, who has gone on to become one of the shining lights of union with Northampton and England.

It is an anxious time for RL bosses – and some figures within the game are offering little cause for optimism.

Australian star Matt Gidley, who played alongside Eastmond at Saints, claims more top English players will look to prove themselves in the NRL.

George Burgess has recently joined brother Sam Down Under, where Gareth Ellis is shining and GB skipper Adrian Morley was a big success before returning home.

Gidley said: “We are more likely to see the best players coming out here and if I was coaching here in Australia I’d be looking pretty seriously at their competition.

“There might not be a wealth of them, but there is still some good young talent.”

Former Great Britain coach Maurice Bamford believes measures should be put in place to  help prevent an English talent drain.

“It would be a blow to lose a player like Eastmond but we have brought all this on ourselves. Clubs need good housekeeping for the future and there should be enough money in the pot and in reserve for when this kind of thing happens because players like Eastmond are rugby league’s future.

“When you run a business not only do you think about today, but you also consider what might happen tomorrow. Union will continue targeting our players and I honestly feel a lot of people in these clubs in league do not realise the potential of their players. If an offer comes in they gladly accept it. We are off the ball only on the field but in the board room as well.

“We have got to keep the likes of Eastmond, he has come to us through the system and now it is time for him to blossom. It is no use letting someone like Cronulla in Australia or rugby union have the best in him.”

Salford Reds’ Aussie football director Steve Simms believes the situation is purely a case of money – and quality – talking, with league legends such as Andy Farrell and Shaun Edwards earning a good living as union coaches alongside code-switching players and the game Down Under the pinnacle of league standards.

“Rugby union has been professional for some time now and a few clubs have struggled.

“But now, we see our players going rugby union. We also have former players coaching in union, along with a lot of ex-coaches.

“They also play similar to rugby league with forwards hitting the rucks and setting up ball for the backs. Regarding the NRL, players always want to test themselves against the best.

“Super League is fantastic but the NRL will always be the leader, so the chance of players going over there will always be on the cards.”

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