Will Greenwood believes the Sam Burgess saga highlights the divide between English clubs and the national team.
Although Burgess initially played at centre for Bath they then moved him into the back-row, but England coach Stuart Lancaster saw the league convert as a 12 and persisted with him in midfield.
Burgess has called time on his rugby union career and returned to the South Sydney Rabbitohs on a three-year deal, and World Cup winner Greenwood feels it's an opportunity missed for the 15-man code.
He told Sky Sports News HQ: "With personal reasons, you have to put the velvet gloves on and treat it very carefully. He has a tremendous amount of family based in Australia and his fiancé is Australian. In the grand scheme of life we have to understand that family is first and foremost.
"If we then were to switch it to rugby and move it away from that emotional tie and connection, it's a pretty disappointing day all round.
"It just feels as though we haven't managed to get the best out of one of the finest athletes on the planet.
"It again highlights to me the lack of cohesion and continuity at times between club and country. Stuart Lancaster and Andy Farrell clearly wanted Burgess to make a go of it at 12, but Bath - his main paymaster - wanted him at six.
"But if New Zealand were in this position - as we saw with Beauden Barrett - and Steve Hansen wanted him to play full-back [with the Hurricanes] because that's where he sees him playing in the World Cup, then he gets that control.
"As long as we have that divide, then in the grand scheme of things we're going to find it really difficult to close the gap on the southern hemisphere teams."
Perfect storm
Greenwood was disappointed with the 'tit-for-tat scrap' between league and union supporters on social media, and says the saddest thing is that union 'couldn't find a way to integrate one of the finest rugby league athletes of our generation into a game that is increasingly similar in terms of power, athleticism and offloads.'
"If you were a rugby league player at the top of your game, why on earth would you want to consider coming to union, to get caught in this perfect storm of media and club v country?" he asked.
"I always thought Burgess would be a fine 12. The small minutiae of understanding lineouts would even have been too much for the great Sonny Bill Williams. As a 12 it would allow him to play like Williams and be a strong, powerful offloader.
"Of course Burgess wasn't perfect and still had a long way to go. Clive Woodward and I never felt he should have been in England's 31-man World Cup squad, but once he was in we backed him.
"Yes, he made a mistake against Wales with an over-charge on Jamie Roberts but you mustn't forget that when Burgess left the field of play, England led 25-18.
"I'm trying to keep emotion out of it but as a sportsman I think it's a sad day that the relationship couldn't work for longer.
"However, as soon as a man starts to talk about going back home for personal reasons, I back off straight away and say you're perfectly within your rights."