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Renewed call for eligibility upheaval amid 2025 Lions tour plans

By Alex McLeod
Copyright Photo: Andrew Cornaga / www.photosport.nz

Fresh calls for an upheaval of World Rugby’s eligibility laws have been made following plans for Pacific Island involvement in the 2025 British and Irish Lions tour of Australia.

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Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan told the Daily Mail last week that he is eager for Fiji and Tonga to be included in the next Lions tour Down Under.

“People are already excited about it. The Lions is the high point in the calendar but it’s the fans that complete it. We want it to be full blown, with as many of them over here as possible,” McLennan said.

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“We want to anchor it back into what a traditional Lions tour looks like for the fans and the players. We want to deliver competitive games against our teams and we’d also like to bring in countries like Fiji and Tonga.

“We want to boost the marketability of the tour and that’s what a lot of people would love to see.”

Manu Samoa head coach Seilala Mapusua has since told RugbyPass that he is keen for his side get involved in the tour, even though McLennan only name-checked their Pacific Island neighbours.

“It would be awesome to have to Lions play in Samoa and you could make the tour to Australia six tests not just three against the Wallabies,” Mapusua said.

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“I think that could be of real interest to the Lions because it would give them high quality matches before the test series and they would be battled hardened.

“One of the luxuries that the Lions have over other international teams is that time together and the more test matches you play the tighter you become and playing Samoa, Tonga and Fiji would be ideal.

“It is encouraging that we are being mentioned in these kind of plans but I would be more encouraged if we were having conversations with other unions rather than just mentions when ideas are put forward.

“As the Pacific Islands rugby nations we get mentioned quite a bit but it still remains to be seen if that leads to us actually being included.

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“We want those conversations to become meaningful for the future of our nations and I would be a massive supporter of making the Lions tour idea work.”

Speaking on the Aotearoa Rugby Pod, Maori All Blacks and Crusaders halfback Bryn Hall said fixtures between the Lions and Fiji, Samoa and Tonga would be “great” for the all the involved parties.

However, the 29-year-old, who faced the Lions while playing for the Crusaders during their 2017 tour of New Zealand, said the Pasifika nations should have the services of their best players for “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity”.

“I think it’s great. I think to get an opportunity to play against a team like that, it’s only going to add to those nations,” Hall told the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.

“I guess the learnings from the series that just went, you want the best players to be available for that.

“We’ve talked around the laws around possibly the tier two nations getting the opportunities to get their big players back and play.

“The likes of [Charles] Piutau, [Steven] Luatua, [Charlie] Faumuina, those kind of players that aren’t getting the opportunity to play in that kind of scene because it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do that.

“So, I think [they should be available for selection] to add depth to those nations so they’re competitive and a good representation of Pacific Island rugby.”

Hall’s comments come after World Rugby’s eligibility rules were at the forefront of media spotlight last month when the All Blacks played tests against Tonga and Fiji.

As it stands, players who have been capped by one nation are ineligible to play for another country they would otherwise be qualified to play for.

The only way test-capped players can switch international allegiances is if they undergo a three-year stand down period and play sevens for their second nation at the Olympics or in an Olympic qualification tournament.

Former All Blacks Sevens star Tim Nanai-Williams, ex-All Blacks midfielder Malakai Fekitoa and former Wallabies loose forward Lopeti Timani are among a handful of players who have utilised this loophole to become eligible for Samoa and Tonga.

However, there remains a large number of players who have played test rugby for tier one nations but haven’t played internationally for at least three years and would be eligible to play for Pacific Island nations if they went down the sevens pathway.

That has proven to be tricky for professional players, though, and ‘Ikale Tahi head coach Toutai Kefu called for more leniency from World Rugby in that respect after Tonga were trounced 102-0 by the All Blacks at Mt Smart Stadium last month.

“The biggest quick fix would probably just be to get access to our better players,” Kefu, who is recovering after receiving stab wounds during a home invasion on Monday, said after that test.

“It’d help a lot. There’s a few players there who are ready to be capped, it’s just all about the timing.

“I certainly believe there should be a stand down period. My opinion is that extra hoop that they have to jump through, in terms of playing sevens, is probably just a layer of complication that we don’t need.

“I’m just happy with a three or four-year stand down. It’d suit us a lot. If that’s possible, our team transforms.”

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Jon 1 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This 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”?

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j
john 4 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But 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.

15 Go to comments
A
Adrian 6 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks 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

15 Go to comments
T
Trevor 8 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

21 Go to comments
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