Francis Baron may paint a bleaker picture of the future of the English game than is necessary but Brain, Worcester's director of rugby, agrees the current row between clubs and country does threaten the national side.
It is not that, in Brain, Baron has found an unlikely ally among the Premiership clubs, but the Warriors coach is realistic enough to appreciate that a compromise between the Rugby Football Union and Premier Rugby must be found soon.
Club coaches should be trusted to ensure their players are in peak physical condition before they are released to turn out for their countries, according to Brain.
Pulling players out of their club sides purely for conditioning makes a mockery of the expertise among the club's trainers and coaches. Instead, players required for international duty should be pooled for organisational purposes . . . team tactics and gameplans.
"There is no doubt it can be damaging to the national team," Brain said yesterday. "The national coaches want as much access as they can to the players but it is the amount of time they want them for that is the problem.
"Generally clubs are willing to release their players for international duty but there has to be a balance in terms of the time for which they are released.
"There needs to be an element of trust in the clubs to condition the players. I am not sure they need the players for as much time just to organise the team. There is no point getting all the players together just to do weight training."
Baron, the RFU chief executive, this week claimed England's hopes of defending the World Cup would be jeopardised unless a peace deal is struck between the clubs and the national management.
In return for funding the game at club level, the RFU wants PRL - the umbrella body looking after the interests of the 12 Guinness Premiership clubs - to agree to release players for blocks of five weeks, for the autumn internationals, and eight weeks, for the Six Nations. The elite players would fall under the direct control of the England coaches.
Worcester players Pat Sanderson and Andy Gomarsall are the most likely to be affected in the future.
An agreement has been reached covering the autumn Tests but not beyond.
Brain, who this week is preparing his side for tomorrow night's Premiership game against Leeds, is concerned his players are being asked to play too much rugby.
"If the release is for six or eight weeks there ought to be some restructuring of the season, perhaps with no Guinness Premiership games or Heineken Cup during the internationals," said Brain.
"The public want to see players playing for their club when not playing for their country."
The RFU have also proposed a £20 million stadia development fund to help Premiership clubs expand their grounds and insist they would pay the players wages, cover them against injury and bear the cost of increased squads to help clubs cover the international absentees. Effectively, the players would be centrally contracted.
"It has been a bone of contention since the advent of professionalism," Brain said . "The RFU did not centrally contract players like other unions particularly in the southern hemisphere."
But Brain stresses the financial burdens were not what concerned him.
"It is not about the financial compensation. I would prefer to have my players rather than the money."
The wrangling between the RFU and PRL is a distraction Brain could do without. Having put behind them the Powergen Cup, Worcester need to refocus their efforts on maintaining their fifth place in the Premiership table.
Victory over Leeds at Sixways would allow them to perhaps even start improving their lot but Brain takes nothing for granted against the Yorkshire side that is propping up the table.
Warriors have won twice, drawn once [against Gloucester] and lost to Wasps in the league while Leeds have yet to garner a victory from their four outings.
"We have had a better start to the season than Leeds and they will be keen to get their season going and I am sure they will treat it like a cup final," said Brain, who appears relatively untroubled by Worcester's exit from the Powergen Cup. The league is everything.
"We attach a lot of importance to these games. I wouldn't see the cup as an irritant but our bread and butter is very much the league. We are trying to consolidate and build on our position in it. We have had a reasonable first month."
Brain will be heartened by the return of key players. Thinus Delport and Gary Trueman have recovered from their respective thigh and ankle injuries.
"I have not finalised the team yet but our injury situation is improving a lot. The only absentees at the moment will be Andre Van Niekerk, Dale Rasmussen and Lee Fortey."
