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When you look at the team squads that France, England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland and Italy have selected for the 2015 Six Nations it is clear that they have decided to buy their way to glory.
This is a shameful repudiation of international sport which is supposed to pit nation against nation, not cheque book against cheque book.
And while this degradation of the national element in world rugby is in play rampantly in Europe, the doyens of the British media (you know who you are, Stephen, Paul and Mick) are relatively silent. Yet they have been stridently vocal in the past about the ‘cheating’ of Australian and New Zealand in selecting Pacific Islanders for the Wallabies and the All Blacks
Back in 2005, though, the usual suspect, The Sunday Times‘s stirrer Stephen Jones, wrote that the sight of the Fijian-born winger Sitiveni Sivivatu scoring four tries against Fiji for the All Blacks in 2005 was “one of the saddest sporting occasions I can remember”.
Sivivatu was born in Suva and came to New Zealand for some of his secondary schooling, at Wesley College, Auckland, when he was 15. He played club rugby after school in Auckland, provincial rugby for Counties Manakau, Super Rugby for the Chiefs, before being selected to play for the All Blacks in 2005, eight years after he arrived in New Zealand.
It is fair to say that Sivivatu is more a product of the New Zealand rugby system than the Fijian rugby system.
As the noted New Zealand sports writer Paul Thomas pointed out in response to Jones, “It’s safe to say that Jones won’t be sobbing over his keyboard should any of England’s current Kiwi contingent – Riki Flutey, Dylan Hartley, Shontayne Hape and Dan Ward-Smith score against the All Blacks at Twickenham”.
In the 2011 Rugby World Cup England presented the most number of players born overseas (eight) than any other of the major rugby countries, aside from Samoa (15), all of whom were born in New Zealand, and Italy with 11 players born overseas. Tonga presented nine players born overseas, Scotland and Australia seven, Wales had five, Ireland and New Zealand played four, France with two, while South Africa had only one player not born in the Republic.
All the indications are, given the controversial selections for the 2015 Six Nations tournament that starts this weekend, that France intends to match England in trying to buy Six Nations and then Rugby World Cup tournament glory.
Scotland, Ireland and Wales, too, are following the England model of buying glory by rushing players into their national squads who have had no real grounding in the rugby culture of their adopted national side.
The halfback for France in their opening match of the 2015 tournament against Scotland is a cheeky, talented South African named Rory Kockott. Oh la la! Kockott, coming on as a reserve, kicked a long-range penalty to sink the Wallabies 29-26 eight minutes from time last November.
Morgan Parra, France’s halfback in the 2011 Rugby World Cup, has been relegated to the reserves bench.
Another South African, Scott Spedding, born in Krugersdorp, will play at fullback after debuting for France, as well, during the 2014 November Tests. Vive la France. As well as these two players, the French squad has contained the South African Bernard Le Roux and the New Zealand prop Uini Atonio, all 146 kilograms of him.
The former French fullback, Emile Ntamack, stated at the time of Spedding’s selection last year that he was “completely against foreigners in the national side … I think the France side should remain the preserve of French players, even if I played with some super guys like the South African Pieter de Villiers and New Zealander Tony Marsh”.
According to World Rugby (IRB) rules, players are eligible for selection in a national side if: they have not played for another national side; have been born in that country; have a parent or a grandparent born in that country; or if they have been resident of that country for 36 consecutive months.
In my view, World Rugby should look to abolishing the parent-grandparent dispensation. There should be a requirement to be a resident of the country for 60 consecutive months.
The most cynical abuse of the registration requirements in recent times has been Scotland’s inclusion in their six Nations squad of the New Zealand flanker Hugh Blake. Blake had not even played a match in Scotland before being selected in the national squad by the New Zealand-born coach Vern Cotter.
Two other Kiwis, Blair Cowan, a flanker, and the winger Sean Maitland, are also Flowers of Scotland. The former Scotland and Lions prop Peter Wright created a Twitter storm with: “A real slap in the face for Barclay, Brown and Grant. Who Blake?!”
Scotland, with their kilted Kiwis, are playing France in the opening round of the 2015 Six Nations tournament at Paris. It will be interesting to see how the imported stars help their sides.
Meanwhile, Ireland’s New Zealand coach Joe Schmidt has selected the former Chiefs prop Nathan White in his 2015 squad. He joins other New Zealanders, Isaac Boss and Jared Payne, in the Irish colours in a case of Cockles and mussels (NZ?) alive, alive, oh!
Ireland are the favourites to win the tournament, and given a good chance to be finalists in the Rugby World Cup 2015 tournament. They play Italy at the Stadio Flaminio and should start their campaign with a handsome victory.
The game that has the most immediate interest for Australians is the opening match between Wales and England at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. For both these sides are in the Pool of Death in the World Cup with the Wallabies.
England have a long injury list with Owen Farrell and David Wilson out of action, and Brad Barritt, Kyle Eastmond, Geoff Parling and Tom Wood are being rated as ‘doubtful’ starters. Sam Burgess, too, has not fired yet for Bath or the Saxons, England’s development team.
Last year England overpowered Wales 29-18. But that was at Twickenham. Two years earlier, Wales monstered England at Cardiff. Can they do it again?
Wales do sport a Pasifika player in Tangaki Taulupe ‘Toby’ Faletau. But in no way does he represent a cynical use of the qualification system. His father, Kuli Faletau played for Tonga in the 1999 Rugby World Cup tournament but had moved to Wales in 1998.
His son, Toby, was seven years old at the time. He is, therefore, a product of the Welsh rugby system (at Ebbw Vale) and the English system (at Filton College, Bristol). The British game developed Toby Faletau and has every right to reward him with the Wales national colours and Lions selection in 2013.
But, unfortunately, the same can’t be said about some of the imports playing for Scotland, France, England and Ireland.