14 Welsh players affected by the Senior Player Selection Policy
With the news breaking on Tuesday that the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) will be scrapping their so-called “Gatland’s Law” and introducing a new Senior Player Selection Policy (SPSP), it has left a number of English-based Welsh players with significant decisions to make.
The new policy will mean that any Welsh player playing outside of Wales will not be considered for international selection, unless they have already accrued 60 or more Test caps. This means that the likes of Taulupe Faletau, George North, Luke Charteris and Jamie Roberts can continue to be selected for Wales without any problem.
Players based abroad who do not meet the threshold of caps but who began their current contracts before the policy was created, will also still be considered for selection for the remainder of their contracts. Should they wish to continue representing Wales – and they do not meet the cap threshold – they will, however, have to return to Wales when their current deals expire.
We’ve rounded up the players that will be affected by this change in selection policy and who will have to think very carefully about their futures over the coming months.
Dan Biggar
This shouldn’t be too much of a problem as Biggar, who has agreed to join Northampton Saints next season, already has 56 caps. Barring injury, Biggar should surpass the 60-cap mark early in the Six Nations next year and be fully-eligible to represent Wales when he makes the move to Franklin’s Gardens.
Rhys Webb
Unfortunately for Webb, the SPSP came along just days after he agreed a move to Toulon and having 28 caps to his name, he has no chance of meeting the threshold before he departs the Ospreys.
This will be an interesting story to watch develop, as he could pull out of the deal if the Ospreys and WRU reach a compensation deal with Toulon – much as Castres and Rory Kockott did a few years ago – or Webb could try and argue that as his deal was agreed before the public announcement of the SPSP, his stint at Toulon should be treated like that of any other player playing on contract that began before the SPSP was created.
Ross Moriarty
Moriarty is in the last year of his current deal with Gloucester and has already received multiple proposals from the WRU and regions, as well as significant interest from England and France.
Sources close to the player told RugbyPass that the WRU proposals were in the region of £450k to £525k, but that there were better financial offers on the table from clubs outside of Wales. This policy will undoubtedly come into Moriarty’s thinking, with the young flanker one of the stars of Welsh rugby already and, at 17 caps, a long way off being eligible to play abroad and remain in the national team.
Liam Williams
The versatile back three player made the move to Saracens this summer on a three-year deal. He currently has 43 caps. That said, he has three Six Nations, two sets of November Tests and a Rugby World Cup to go to earn the requisite 60 caps, whilst remaining eligible on a deal signed before the creation of the SPSP.
Tomas Francis
At 23 caps, Francis is another player who will have to consider a move to one of the Welsh regions in the near future. His current deal runs until the end of 2018/19 season, so it is not something he needs to think about immediately but it will be interesting to see whether or not the allure of the red jersey is enough to take him away from reigning Premiership champions, Exeter Chiefs.
Thomas Young
Young got his first tastes of international rugby this year, with Sam Warburton and Justin Tipuric away with the British and Irish Lions, and if he wants to further his international experience, he will need to return home at the end of his current deal with Wasps.
The Young scenario will be a good test of the power – and pull – of the SPSP. With so many talented flankers already playing in Wales and seemingly ahead of Young in the international pecking order, will it be enough to tempt him to return to Wales?
Owen Williams
Like Young, Williams made his international bow for Wales this summer and faces a tough pecking order to move up, even if he does choose to move to one of the regions. There is no public confirmation of the length of Williams’ deal at Gloucester, but given that the fly-half only joined the Cherry and Whites this past summer, his deal will almost certainly last until at least the end of the 2018/19 season.
Rhys Priestland
Regarding Priestland’s international career, there felt a fair amount of closure when he agreed to make the move from the Scarlets to Bath.
That said, in the absence of the recently departed George Ford, Priestland has been in excellent form for Bath, pulling the strings and helping their back line tick. He extended his deal with the English club earlier this year and currently has 48 Test caps to his name.
It’s not inconceivable that he reaches the 60 cap mark by the time this deal ends, but with Biggar, Sam Davies and Gareth Anscombe all in the mix, as well as Rhys Patchell impressing for the Scarlets, it seems unlikely.
Mat Protheroe, Jordan Williams, Harry Randall, Luke Hamilton, George Nott and Josh Adams
These uncapped players are all Welsh-born and/or Welsh-qualified and could all have important imminent decisions to make regarding their futures.
Protheroe and Randall have both made a reputation for themselves in the England age-grade sides, as well as Protheroe having an impressive debut season at Bristol.
Williams and Adams are two former age-grade standouts for Wales who are now making their way in senior rugby at Bristol and Worcester Warriors respectively.
Hamilton has started the season well for Leicester Tigers, whilst George Nott is English and played for the England U20s, but is well thought of in Wales, not to mention eligible to pull on the red jersey.
As with the capped players not yet meeting the 60-cap mark, these uncapped players will all also be available to Wales for the life of their current contracts.
Comments on RugbyPass
Hold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
40 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
1 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
5 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
40 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
40 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to commentsThis is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?
35 Go to commentsWow, didn’t realise there was such apathy to URC in SA, or by Champions Cup teams. Just read Nick’s article on Crusaders, are Sharks a similar circumstance? I think SA rugby has been far more balanced than NZs, no?
4 Go to commentsBut here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.
40 Go to commentsIt could be coincidental or prescient that the All Blacks most dominant period under Steve Hansen was when the Crusaders had their least successful period under Todd Blackadder and then the positions reversed when Razor took over the Crusaders.
40 Go to commentsDefinitely sound read everybodyexpects immediate results these days, I don't think any team would travel well at all having lost three of the most important game changers in the game,compiled with the massive injury list they are now carrying, good to see a different more in depth perspective of a coaches history.
3 Go to commentsSinckler is a really big loss for English rugby.
2 Go to commentsThanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause
40 Go to comments