The talk of the Autumn Nations Cup has been the five players in Ireland’s starting 15 who qualified due to residency rules, seeing Eddie Jones brand Andy Farrell’s experimental team as the “United Nations” in the pre-match press conference.
Regardless of Jones’ playful nudge, every national rugby union team has benefited from the three-year eligibility rule to the point it has become a Shakespearean tragedy and comedy rolled into one.
The 2019 Rugby World Cup included 134 foreign-born players, a rule that is exploited by adults who are on the fringes of the national set up in their home nation.
Ireland have forthrightly employed the regulations of naturalisation to their advantage, with South African-born backrower CJ Stander and New Zealand-born centre Bundee Aki becoming adored assets to the IRFU.
The most recent inclusion to the mix was Leinster’s James Lowe, Jamison Gibson-Park and Quinn Roux, who all qualified through residency. It was only a matter of patience for these quality players to qualify, with similar actions occurring when Munster’s Jean Klynn won his first Irish cap against Italy in 2019, only one day after his qualification.
In terms of the IRFU, the contracts drawn up have allowed players such as Stander and Aki to integrate handsomely into their communities and contribute to the provincial setup.
The disadvantages lie in minimal prioritisation of native players who would compete for these positions. The IRFU would argue that every player on the team is eligible to play but in hindsight, winning with purely homegrown talent would make it that bit sweeter.
The IRFU’s pool of players has come in leaps and bounds from its humble and raw beginnings as an amateur game to producing top-level professional athletes. Is there a need for such tomfoolery with a proven player development program?
The sinister aspect to ‘project players’ in rugby unions outside Ireland, notably in lower-tier French sides, is the financial manipulation of Pacific Island players, seeing World Rugby increase the minimum residency period to five years.
Tiptoeing around the topic of homegrown talent there is a conspicuous attitude within the IRFU which minimises the playing and athletic potential of some of our young players.
With several contracts due to end this year, the IRFU is in a tricky financial position and will have to hold negotiations with Sexton, Stander and Henderson next year. In addition to the financial woes, David Nucifora recently reiterated that no changes would be made considering Ireland’s policy on picking players based abroad, despite the likely pay cuts in store for players.
Players such as Racing 92’s Simon Zebo and London Irish prop Sean O’Brien lost their place on the Irish squad, while Johnny Sexton was the only player to maintain his position when he left Leinster for Racing 92 in 2013.
Jonathan Sexton (Photo By Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
A stain of hypocrisy shadowed the IRFU that allowed Sexton to compete with Ireland while other talented players have to give up their international career to play abroad.
Australia applied the same policy in choosing the national team through Super Rugby, until Rugby Australia reconditioned the rule to allow overseas-based players with 60-plus caps. Known as ‘Giteau’s law’, it was enacted to allow Toulon centre Matt Giteau to play for the Wallabies in the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
In 2020, the rule eased again to allow two overseas players that don’t qualify through Giteau’s law to be selected via consultation from the Rugby Australia board.
Ireland’s provincial teams have produced accomplished and skilled players who have won the Six Nations on three occasions and ranked No.1 in the world. However, for the precedence in which we judge Ireland, why have our achievements on the world stage been incredibly disparate.
Look at the reigning world champions. A stark contrast between Ireland and South Africa may be stature and size but many Springboks play for the most competitive clubs and leagues in Europe. Faf de Klerk, Jean-Luc and Daniel du Preez play their rugby with Sale Sharks, Jacques Vermeulen is at Exeter Chiefs, while Cheslin Kolbe is with Toulouse.
South Africa’s talent compete against the best teams in the northern hemisphere, then transgress into the international setup.
Irish provincial teams don’t have this luxury. How many trashings of Zebre or Benetton does Leinster have to inflict to prove the sub-par position of the Pro League, then gingerly wait for the Champions Cup to come along to be tested?
Competitiveness and consistency are gospel for players and teams to succeed.
The pro rugby competition is set to expand as SA Rugby voted to allow the Sharks, Bulls, Lions and Stormers to transition over to the fractured European competition. This may be the perfect resolution to the lack of bite seen in the league and give proper competitiveness to Irish rugby.
Nonetheless, the game against Georgia last week exposed major cracks in the structure of the Irish setup, and even if Simon Zebo waltzed into the fullback position off the back of playing in France, one man can’t mask the glare of disjointed belief.
Kent Dorfman
Roar Rookie
yeah, probably to make the NRL shake in their boots thinking that the Wunderkind will do a runner to rugby, so add a few more zero's to me contract and I'll stay in league
That may well all be true but he is an NZ citizen….How do you think he could play for the ABs without doing the 3 year residency rules?….Seems to be a player that want to earn the most! And why shouldnt he I guess. ABs have never shown any interest in Ponga apart from answering reporters questions about whether they would be interested in him…And NZR 100% ruled out a top up on top of any SR contract he signed like ABs get. Ponga the one driving the gossip…..
Kent Dorfman
Roar Rookie
Ponga was born in Port Hedland WA, wants to play for the Kangaroos & if he turns to rugby - the AB's
Josh
Roar Rookie
The rules i think are ok. They are set up in a way to support a Hayne situation or a Pritchard situation. When you are at your best play for Tier 1 nations for big money and a chance of winning the wc. On your way down help the Tier 2 countries. Problem was Tongan kids decided to forgo big money and a good chance of winning a world cup for a distant dream. That was not expected. Hard to see this being a trend as it really hurts the back pockets of these players.
No piatau cant play for anyone but NZ...he made his choice to chase the $$ after 15 tests. As a Kiwi the Tongan situation is terrible.....A lot of "Tongans" seem to be born in NZ and many have played for NZ previously...Leagues International rules make the sport look like a mickey mouse setup...
Josh
Roar Rookie
Not sure if Piutau can sit out for a number of years, then be available for Tonga. I think he has been injured a bit lately as I haven't seen him for Bristol lately. The most recent league world cup, to many, was the most successful. A big part was the quality of the tongan team and the increased competition that created. Also the understanding to many fans just how much money these players were forgoing. Definitely not seen that way by many kiwi fans.
Micko at the time he was born in Brisbane the policy of Australia was that a child had to have at least 1 Aus parent before that child was able to become an Aus citizen. It lasted from 87-93 I believe and he was born during that period. he still isnt an Aus citizen now yet he has never lived anywhere else.
Micko
Roar Rookie
Not allowed? Why not allowed?! :shocked:
yeah Brodie was on a sabatical and could have done what Whitelock did this year ( come back to SRA ), played for the Chiefs ( Gatland did contact him apparently ) , and therefore became available for the ABs this year but he opted to bypass the NZ rugby season for the sake of his body....I was more thinking of guys like Cruden and Piatau ( as example ) who go OS then play good rugby over there...Piatau in particular consistantly gets good press but I certainly dont want NZ to select him from the UK. Others then say he should be available for the Tongan side but I dont see it that way...he chose his path ...To me its that simple and if NZ changed then the NZ domestic comp would be a U23 comp with some older guys who didnt make the OS club scene...
Josh
Roar Rookie
I understand your line thought Jacko but there is a difference between difficult to select overseas on comparable performance and not being allowed to select overseas players. I may be wrong but isn't that what Sth Africa and Argentina are already doing?. If I was a NZ selector and I was allowed to select Retallick, I would definitely pick him. The same would apply to Arnold, but I do get point.
Paulo
Roar Rookie
It’s stupid isn’t it?
LOL Id love to know who my son should have played for...Born in Aus but not allowed to be an Aus citizen....
Who said that Kent? Was it NZR or was it Ponga? Funnily enough you use Ponga as your example as he is an NZ citizen
Josh most of your post is being done exactly right now....Players are allowed to play for any club they chose to! Surely you dont expect a nation to be forced to select a player at an OS club where they dont see the training...the injury treatments, the positional plays ...the ethos they play under from anything but a long distance? Its silly to expect a country like NZ to select someone from the UK as an example because they just dont have the same information available to them as a player at the Chiefs or the Blues etc...Crazy stuff...
So WC runners up...Cricket...WC winners...Netball....AC winners ....Yachting...9 Gold medalists in last World championship...Rowing etc etc etc Yeah those winners were all Fijian, Tongan and Samoan eh? NZ supplied 17 players to both Samoa and Tonga at 2019 WC so you are WRONG and a kick that has been dropped....
More rubbish Micko...Does it ever end with this total BS line you peddle?
Peter
Roar Rookie
Lol, I wouldn't reference Biden too often Paulo, people might perceive that you are playing the politics of envy and division. Silly me was thinking that it was the Russian's all along that were behind the election. Or is that C.N.N narrative not relevant now that the Democrats have won.
Peter
Roar Rookie
Wrong again Paulo. You sure are quick to criticise and condemn, in this case you criticise Carlos for taking, as you put it, the "perceived moral high ground" but Argentina has a per capita income that places it 66th in the world. A far cry from the riches found by Bundee Aki in Ireland. If we consider your argument for a moment. Argentina does not have to deal with the issue of foreign players because they are just too poor. What does that say about foreign rugby imports and their new found adopted patriotism. Perhaps these said players scratched Argentina off the list because they had an aversion to the lithe like moves in Tango and are drawn instead to Ireland for it's buccolic beauty and whether or perhaps not. Once upon a time people were motivated to play for their nations out of a sense of loyalty and patriotism and a sense of belonging and collective Identity. Something the Argentinians clearly have in spades. That you would seek to deny the wealthier nations that same opportunity smacks to me of the politics of division and envy.
Peter
Roar Rookie
Hey Paulo, look what I found; I think it might be one of your quotes from a little earlier. It's good to see we agree after all; "For countries with huge migrant populations, having migrants then represent our countries make those teams a more true representation of those same countries, not less." or is it only recent migrant's that you are referring to Paulo.
Peter
Roar Rookie
Paulo, I notice that you are quick to criticise my comments or were until you shied away but not so keen to proffer a rebuttal of your own. Perhaps after all you do agree that by singling the national anthem in the Eora language we inadvertently snub the ngarigo or the waripiri people who's own language's one assume's are as equally precious to them or would you have the Wallaby's run through all 363 aboriginal languages only to then incur the wrath of the much more heavily populated Hindi and Italian community's for not performing in their tongue too. Hope my comments were not too verbose for you. I know you don't agree with them but guess what, there are plenty of Aussie's that do.