Scottish Rugby have made a formal complaint to the International Rugby Board after the national team�s English-based players were refused permission to attend yesterday�s training session at Murrayfield.

Scottish Rugby have made a formal complaint to the International Rugby Board after the national team's English-based players were refused permission to attend yesterday's training session at Murrayfield.

Premier Rugby, the umbrella organisation representing Guinness Premiership clubs, instructed each of their teams not to release players for what was Scotland's first get-together of the new season.

The directive has sparked a conflict that Frank Hadden, the Scotland head coach, had hoped to avoid after recently taking a bridge-building tour of foreign clubs with Scotland players in their squads.

Hadden appeared to be bracing himself for the absence of some of his exiled players by naming a 50-man squad last week for yesterday's training session. But he was clearly not prepared for the blanket ban which has transpired.

The 10 missing players were Alasdair Strokosch, Alasdair Dickinson, Rory Lawson and Scott Lawson (all Gloucester), Sean Lamont and Euan Murray (both Northampton), Rory Lamont and Jason White (both Sale), Gordon Ross (Saracens) and Stephen Jones (Newcastle).

A Scottish Rugby spokesman said: "We provided these clubs with ample notice of this short training camp and usual custom and practice has resulted in our England-based players being made unavailable to Scotland for training camps.

"We are obviously concerned that our tried and tested relationship with these English clubs has been upset by the sudden intervention of Premier Rugby and as a result of today's non-appearance of so many players, we have made formal representation to the IRB, the world's governing body, to resolve this matter."

Scottish Rugby have urged the IRB to resolve the matter before their final preparations begin for the November Tests against New Zealand, South Africa and Canada.

The results of these matches will determine Scotland's ranking going into the draw for the 2011 World Cup.

The spokesman added: "We will be seeking further information from the IRB to ensure that Scotland has a clear understanding of the IRB's regulations governing player release for international matches and preparation.

"The IRB's first port of call is the RFU, the governing body of the game in England, and we await the outcome of their discussions with interest."

Hadden had been hoping to secure the release of players two weeks before every Test match. Martin Johnson, the England manager, is able to do just that as the Rugby Football Union pay Premiership clubs for the privilege.

Indeed, it also emerged that Hadden would not be given the extended access, with Premier Rugby confirming they would not budge from a five-day release period. A spokesman said: "We are sticking to those release periods and not releasing outside of those periods."