Former England rugby player Brian Moore, speaking on Radio 5 Live, made a very interesting comment recently. He questioned the value of having reserve squads at international level if those players were not given the chance to become involved with the first team at some stage.

It seems a worrying trend that in football, cricket and other sports, as well as rugby union, promising players are not given the opportunity to play at a higher level. This is all set against a background of the England football team, after a disappointing World Cup, playing poorly in the current European Championship qualifiers. The cricket team have struggled since winning the Ashes in 2005, while the rugby union side have been dismal since winning the World Cup in 2003.

The coaches of all sides concerned will point to bad luck regarding injuries - and they have a point. Sven Goran Eriksson went to Germany with concerns over the fitness of key players like Ashley Cole, Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney. Duncan Fletcher is in Australia without captain Michael Vaughan, Marcus Trescothick and Simon Jones. And Andy Robinson will feel aggrieved after resigning - having not had the likes of Jonny Wilkinson, Phil Vickery and Andy Farrell at his disposal.

They will also point out that they have looked to reserve and youth squads for reinforcements. Eriksson took young Theo Walcott to the World Cup, Fletcher has gambled on the likes of Alistair Cook, while Robinson tried a number of options to aid his injury-ravaged side.

However, there was also a worrying propensity to rely on the tried and tested, rather than young and promising players. Eriksson showed blind faith in the waning abilities of David Beckham in the World Cup, while more recently Fletcher inexplicably chose Ashley Giles over Monty Panesar and Geraint Jones ahead of Chris Read.

Only this week new England rugby union coach Brian Ashton, despite adding new blood to his first squad,  brought back World Cup winners Steve Thompson, Mike Tindall and Jason Robinson. The proof of the pudding will be in the upcoming Six Nations championship.

When such gambles pay off, they are spectacular. Despite his moment of madness in the World Cup Final, Zinedine Zidane came out of retirement to inspire the French side. The current Australian cricket team, whose average age is around 137, have crushed their younger English counterparts in the current  Ashes series. There seems to be a fine line between the power of experience and youthful endeavour.

What is the standard of these so-called feeder teams? In the case of football, the most recent Under 21 squad has a distinct lack of quality. While Scott Carson, Curtis Davis and Tom Huddlestone seem set for glistening careers, can anyone really envisage the likes of Wayne Routledge, Anton Ferdinand and Kieran Richardson having good international careers?

The cricket academy squad, currently based in Perth, seems to consist of the very raw and the dangerously ordinary. And many have lost count of the number of players who have represented the rugby union side of late, generally to a poor standard.

It is apparent that a line exists between ‘potential’ and ‘ordinary’. How many years or chances have to pass before a player and his coach have to accept that a successful career at club level is the best that can be expected? The very best players break into the national sides at an early age; Rooney, Cook and Wilkinson spring to mind. Are the various under 21, academy and B teams actually worthwhile? They appear to be yet another reason for domestic clubs to lose players through injury.

So the days of feeder teams at international level are numbered. Not quite. The responsibility lies with the coaches. Experienced players need constant assessment to ensure that they are not living on past glories. Promising players need to be identified early in these feeder teams and if they are good enough, involved in the first team regularly. Ruthlessness is required for those who are not going to make it; rather than simply demoting failures back into the lower echelons, why not try someone else?

We hear in this week's papers that vast amounts of money is spent of national football academies in England with very little return - unlike those of France, for example. With the Premiership becoming ever more swamped with foreign talent, these academies need to start producing, if the national team is to revisit past glories (or glory). Being selected to represent your country is a thrill for any aspiring sportsman, but too much time spent in the wings could prove costly.

What do you think of sports academies as a means of bringing young players on? Do they work - or are they a waste of time? Let us have your thoughts and comments at sportingo.com