World Rugby has recently started voicing their concern about player migration and announced that they will soon be reviewing residency rules.
Players who are contracted outside of their home nations for the purpose of playing well paid club rugby have already attracted a lot of attention, which we covered here, but keeping a semblance of control over player migration for those who do so for the opportunity of playing International rugby has the potential to harm both the country of their birth and the country a player has decided to emigrate to. Their country of birth loses their star players and the destination countries have the problem of their own home grown players being derived of International opportunities.
Make no mistake, I have absolutely no problem with what I would term “accidental internationals”. Youngsters who have moved to new countries with their parents when they were still dependents and developed into international sportsmen cannot be an issue and there are numerous examples of this. Just about every country will have an example, from England to South Africa and New Zealand – it happens.
What makes me start asking questions is when players make the decision to relocate with the stated intent of qualifying for and playing for their new country. The case of Bandi Akhee is of particular relevance here. When he left New Zealand, he announced plans to qualify to play for Ireland, with the promise of having his residency fast-tracked. South African Richardt Strauss, cousin of South African hooker Adriaan Strauss, did the same and has played six Tests for Ireland. Australian Huia Edmonds shocked the Newlands faithful on his arrival in Cape Town to play Super Rugby for the Stormers with his declaration that playing for the Springboks was on his radar.
The Scottish Rugby Union recently announced their extended training squad for the Rugby World Cup and it includes Joshua Strauss and WP Nel. Strauss’s wild beard might remind us of the famed Scottish Highlanders, but that is as far as his Scottish roots go. Both of these players recently qualified for Scottish selection by virtue of residency and not decent.
Listening to the commentary of the opening games of the World Rugby Under 20 Championship was a further indication of the chaos starting to develop in the game. The number of under 20 players who are already playing for countries that they were not born in is astounding. One of the Samoan players represented New Zealand in the 2014 edition of the tournament, but did not make the side for 2015. Call me old-fashioned if you want to, but I cannot get my mind around the fact that his nationality changed within twelve months?
World Rugby currently apply the rule of “One Team for Life”. If a player has played a Test for one country, they effectively commit their future International career to that country. Each Rugby Union also nominates which side is to be regarded as their effective second team. If a player is selected for the nominated second team, the same rule would apply. Many nations now nominate their national Under 20 sides as their second side and protection of their future playing stock would be the primary reason for this.
This has already had a negative impact on one of the traditional Home Unions. Youngsters Roy Bartle (residency) and Callum Sheedy (English mother) both have the opportunity to qualify to play for England. They surprised the Welsh Rugby Union when they withdrew from their Under 20 Six Nations match against France in order to not compromise their hopes of qualifying to play for England. Neither player has been selected to play for Wales in the Junior World Cup in Italy. Their circumstances are probably more on the fringes of this issue, but it does indicate the possibility of players becoming more mercenaries than players who respect the value of the jersey and play for everything it stands for is a possibility for most nations. Let’s face it… only 23 players can be in an England match day squad so the numbers looking toward England for their international future is becoming unrealistic.
The sad reality here is that the vast majority of players looking to play for nations other than the country in which they grew up in tend to move up the currency scale. Very rarely, if ever, will you see a player moving from the likes of an England or France to qualify for a South Africa or New Zealand. Make that never… I fully understand and appreciate that this rugby is a professional game and players are entitled to earn a good living using the talent they possess, however, this should not be at the expense of the international game and the wonderful traditions this represents, so surely club level is where this should be done?
I am sure there are numerous opinions on this subject and look forward to your thoughts. As I have explored the issue, I have found the content more and more tricky to process, which makes it a fantastic subject. There is no single simple answer to this and look forward to how World Rugby approach this conundrum.
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