The international game is becoming more about power than nationalism
“We’re just abiding by World Rugby laws,” England’s defence coach Paul Gustard declares in regards to the selection of Brad Shields. The main thing, according to Gustard, is “we are not doing anything that’s illegal”.
No, it’s not illegal but it doesn’t have to be. The selection of Brad Shields further weakens the integrity of the international game, which is heading further away from its purity. It’s window-dressed as ‘internationals’ when it’s really about the power wielded by unions and not solely about representing your country.
The fact that the All Blacks dropped the prefix “New Zealand” from the team name tells you everything you need to know. They are a brand, dedicated to winning and will do what is required to make that happen.
World Rugby makes eligibility laws and Unions find ways to abide by them, whether those ways are righteous or not.
Japan actively sources Tongans for university scholarships with the intention of the national side benefiting from their residency. By the time they finish uni and play a couple of years of professional rugby, they can play for Japan.
Ireland is slowly joining the arms race, with New Zealand-born Bundee Aki becoming their first player with Pacific island heritage. Fijian-born Seevu Reece could become their second. Manu Tuilagi plays for England yet his brothers play for Samoa.
Scotland and Wales have benefited from New Zealand born-and-raised players qualifying under their grandparents or parents – Sean Maitland, Nick Grigg, and Gareth Anscombe.
The Wallabies and All Blacks continue to benefit from being in close proximity to the Pacific islands. New Zealand in particular, has a large Pacific island population that is now into the second and third generation to pick from. Still, that doesn’t stop the teams and schools from actively recruiting the next generation of players from Fiji or Tonga on high school ‘scholarships’.
A Tongan or Fijian schoolboy development trip to New Zealand is more like a touring fish market. The best players are certain to be offered scholarships to play rugby for schools in New Zealand, bringing them into the system where they can become eligible. Is it a better option for the player? Yes. Is it good for the integrity of the international game? No.
It’s human nature to do what’s best for you, players will choose a better future and Unions will do what they need to be competitive. When World Rugby vice-chairman Agustin Pichot tweeted “we are losing something… the game is losing something” it is hopefully the realisation that the system is broken and is more about World Rugby eligibility rules than Brad Shields.
A simple solution – qualification other than by birthright should be by 10 years residency or five years residency with heritage qualification (through birthright of parent or grandparent). Those like Joey Carberry who was born in New Zealand but moved to Ireland at 11-years-old would still qualify for Ireland. If Shields identifies as English, he would have had to move a lot earlier to pursue that dream and complete five years of residency first.
10 years residency for players with no heritage ties to a country would almost certainly prevent Bundee Aki from playing for Ireland but could also serve to strengthen the Pacific Island teams. If Vaea Fifita or Seta Tamanivalu had to wait until they were 26 or 27 years old to qualify for the All Blacks, would they instead opt to just play for Tonga and Fiji respectively?
The proposed extension of residency qualification from three to five years will fail to have much impact and it will not stop players using their grandparents as a loophole to play for a country they’ve never lived in or possibly never been too.
Brad Shields wasn’t the first and won’t be the last.
In other news:
Comments on RugbyPass
Danny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
2 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
2 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
2 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
38 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
2 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
2 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
5 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
35 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
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