Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

'It's an easy fix. Very easy': Plea to World Rugby to sort Folau Fakatava's All Black eligibility

(Photo by Joe Allison/Getty Images)

The extension of World Rugby’s residency qualification rule next year from three to five years has thrown a spanner in the works for those on the verge of debuting for their new countries.

ADVERTISEMENT

Highlanders halfback Folau Fakatava is one of those players for New Zealand, who would’ve likely debuted for the All Blacks in 2021 had he not suffered a season-ending injury. As an uncapped player, Fakatava is now subject to the five year residency rule which would delay his potential capping until 2023.

New Zealand’s Players’ Assocation CEO Rob Nichol is calling on World Rugby to preserve the eligibility of those who had already served the necessary three years, provided their residency status does not change.

Video Spacer

Why Rieko Ioane can be a world class centre | Healthspan Elite Performer of the Week

Video Spacer

Why Rieko Ioane can be a world class centre | Healthspan Elite Performer of the Week

“It’s not just about Folau, it’s an anomaly that’s been created through the way the regulation has been altered,” Nichol said in an interview with Stuff.co.nz.

“It’s been highlighted, and it’s now up to World Rugby if they choose to fix it.

“It’s an easy fix. Very easy. It’s literally just to say that once you have qualified, based on your residency, you maintain that qualification so long as you remain resident.”

The extension of the residency rule was supposed to strengthen the integrity of the international game but the new rules regarding eligibility switching seemingly contradicts the approach taken to the residency qualification rule.

Players can now switch nation eligibility after completing a stand down period, as long as they have a birthright connection to that second nation, which means going forward players can represent multiple countries throughout their international careers.

ADVERTISEMENT

Should World Rugby fail to amend the residency rule, Fakatava won’t be able to represent the All Blacks until 2023 but he still remains eligible for Tonga, his nation of birth where he grew up until moving at age 16 to New Zealand.

ADVERTISEMENT

LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

4 Comments
J
Jmann 1207 days ago

He absolutely should be able to play for his adopted country. The only reason he wasn't capped was due to an injury. But we all know that WR have zero intention of ever doing a single thing to help NZ.

They should have rolled him out on crutches for the last 10secs of a game to avoid having to turn to WR for a logical and helpful outcome.

L
Lmaris 1208 days ago

He can play for Tonga immediately then, if he keeps his residency in NZ play for them later. But that's not how NZ does things. They want the prime playing years from Island players, then toss them back to their home countries.

Since he wasn't capped in 2021 under the old rules, he has to wait.

Load More Comments

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

J
JW 52 minutes ago
'France may leave top players at home but will still be serious contenders in New Zealand'

My list is just the current fit squad shown on wikipedia (I know I know!) minus the two teams. Just trying to get a picture of how many of the arguably “top 40” are coming (that would be half) and where they need filling out.


Like I see another post mentioned Berdeu was mentioned at 10 where I’d imagine the poster likes the look of the player, where I was just going by my very rudimentary hierarchy and stat (what opta have of the stats hub and where Berdeu is fairly low) visibility.

If Toulouse or, and, Bordeaux are not in the final

It might be overly critical but with the current state of the Top 14 I can’t see it being anyone else J Marc.


You touch on a very pertinent question I have been asking myself though, what is going to happen to the players outside the Finals game day 23?


I’d imagine that the plane to NZ would already have left, so any of the really good players that can’t make the final selection for their club (but could have for France), will still be needed by their club to stay in France incase someone gets injured for the final. Do you know if that is right?


Yeah I feel that they will still apply the ‘premium’ rule to some players, they’ll need a leader though.


So you think he will try to look to the future rather than make the most competitive team possible?


That might make it a lot easier, it will be very interesting what Razor does in that same respect though J Marc! It’s sounding like it’s going to be the exact same group of tested All Blacks again.

29 Go to comments
LONG READ
LONG READ Steve Meehan: 'If you start winning, it’s amazing what effect it has on all fans.' Steve Meehan: 'If you start winning, it’s amazing what effect it has on all fans.'
Search