Six Nations 2023
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They only said foreign born which is correct. The salient point for most of these "born here, play there" guys is where they learned their rugby, where they were brought up in effect. Faletau is as Welsh as anyone on that basis.
Looking at the Wales list you have four blatant poaches in Roberts, Francis, Tompkins and Cuthbert - all born there, played there and then jumped ship.
However, you can keep Cuthbert
Edit: I see Scotland have 20, bloody 20 in that category including 14 that have played representative rugby elsewhere. Sheesh!
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@MiketheSnow said in Six Nations 2023:
@Daffy-Jaffy said in Six Nations 2023:
An article with detailed eligibility info re: six nations squads -
Went straight to Wales
Any list that contains Faletau as foreign is drivel
It does say both born AND produced then clearly shows what is what.
Without looking closely at every "born and produced in one UK country but playing for another" to ascertain their exact story (it's not like there are hard borders) and therefore removing them and focussing on the born and produced in clearly other countries, then the numbers are more like
Scotland - 8
Ireland- 7
Wales - 1
Italy - 5
England - 1
France -2The only country that has clear signs of a poaching system to target players from other countries is Ireland IMO.
Scotland also draw on "heritage" players, a lot -
@Duluth said in Six Nations 2023:
Personally I'm not a fan of the grandparent eligibility. It's not enough of a link in my opinion
Scotland - 8
Wales - 3
Ireland - 2
Italy -2
England - 1
France - 0Agree. We jokingly had this conversation with one of the kids the other day that there were options to play for three countries. Apart from knowing that grandparents came from overseas they have zero attachment to that country culturally, financially or physically.
The various national laws around gaining citizenship then muddy the waters even further. -
@Crucial I personally don't really agree with parent rule, I believe where you were born, or where you reside. Only you yourself should influence your eligibility!
With Granparent rule there is a possibilty of eligibilty of 7 countries that you may not have ever been to! My kids nor I ever had the problem if we were good enough anyway as all parents and grandparents were kiwi born and raised, and I think in my case even my parents were in same boat! Kiwi as I,m afraid! -
Some of the lads on Mrs Cato’s side of the family have played international rugby for Malta based on the grandparent rule.
Also Mrs Cato has put in for a Maltese passport to enjoy the personal benefits of being a member of the EU.
After voting leave in 2016… 🙄
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The crazy thing about the grandparent eligibility is that in many cases those grandparents themselves emigrated as youngsters.
There is also the way that the rules are pretty much one-way traffic dragging new world players back to 'old' countries.
The craziness that is UK eligibility is a separate thing. Someone born in Berwick upon Tweed or Chester or the Wye Valley for example are virtually two country eligible from the start. Mum only had to pop over the river, over the road or off to a pub to find Dad and bang, there you go. -
@Catogrande said in Six Nations 2023:
Yep and if you’re born on one of the Channel Islands you are eligible for any of the four countries.
That's because it is unclear who is your parent and who is your grandparent.
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@Catogrande said in Six Nations 2023:
Yep and if you’re born on one of the Channel Islands you are eligible for any of the four countries.
I didn't know that. If your grandmother is born there, does that still count?
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@Catogrande said in Six Nations 2023:
Yep and if you’re born on one of the Channel Islands you are eligible for any of the four countries.
Budge Pountney had a grandparent from the Channel Islands so was eligible for all four nations
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@Duluth said in Six Nations 2023:
Personally I'm not a fan of the grandparent eligibility. It's not enough of a link in my opinion
There must be a fair few PIs eligible based on grandparent rule at the moment and it will only increase in the next decade. We're going to get to the situation in the future where a number of PI rep players kids aren't eligible for that PI.
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@Duluth said in Six Nations 2023:
@Catogrande said in Six Nations 2023:
Yep and if you’re born on one of the Channel Islands you are eligible for any of the four countries.
Budge Pountney had a grandparent from the Channel Islands so was eligible for all four nations
Sweet, me too - I reckon I could get on that Tier 2 team in white
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@Duluth said in Six Nations 2023:
Personally I'm not a fan of the grandparent eligibility. It's not enough of a link in my opinion
Scotland - 8
Wales - 3
Ireland - 2
Italy -2
England - 1
France - 0The grandparent rule can be looked at in two different ways.
My father came to NZ from Northern Ireland as a mature man a few years after WWII ended. Eventually his children came along over a number of years and then his grandchildren. All his grandchildren had huge amounts of contact and involvement with him and were all aware of his heritage, his Irish eccentricities, and most have had contact with family "back home". The quirks of the citizenship laws in Ireland automatically make all the grandchildren citizens of the Republic of Ireland (subject to their births being registered there) and most of them travel on a Republic of Ireland Passport (British Passports being unavailable to them). Most of the grandchildren have spent time living and working in the UK. What I am trying to convey is that the grandchildren still have strong ties to their grandfather's homeland and do not use that twist of fate as an "easy way" around things.
It turns out one of my nephews is currently a part of one of the four Irish United Championship squads and is classified as a local (he is an Irish citizen after all!) and in the unlikely event he ever managed to make the Ireland team would probably be labelled as an "import" (born in NZ to a NZ father/Aussie mother and learnt his rugby in Aus). The "grandparent rule" be dammed, he is about an Irish as a kiwi can get!
The other way I refer to was the case of Thomas the Tank Waldron who had to check with his mother whether his grandparent was English before making himself available for England. If he was committed to England you would have thought he would have known that without any hesitation. -
@Higgins said in Six Nations 2023:
The "grandparent rule" be dammed, he is about an Irish as a kiwi can get!
You undermine your own argument. Although automatic citizenship certainly strengthens the Irish case.
By comparison UK citizenship is not automatic if you have a grandparent who was a UK citizen, so to my mind you should not be able to qualify for England, Wales or Scotland through the grandparent ruling.
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@dogmeat His paternal grandmother is at least 75% English but the citizenship determining part was her mother and in those days mothers were unable to pass on citizenship, despite their being no doubt of said child's English parentage (unlike many cases involving potential English fathers!). The irony of it is that her children (unlike her) are British Citizens by birthright/decent through our Irish father!!! However being born outside the UK means we can only pass on Brititsh citizenship if our children were born in the UK, none were hence the use of the Republic of Ireland citizenship and passport by the grandchildren, comes in very handy for the rugby player.
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@Higgins For a rugby player who wants to play test rugby, having a certain passport or citizenship is irrelevant. That's the whole point of the eligibility rules. It only matters for Olympic Sevens, because the Olympic Charter requires an athlete to have the citizenship of the country (s)he represents. Eligibility depends on own birthplace, (grand)parent's birthplace or residency.
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My predictions for final positions after round 1:
- Ireland
- France
- England
- Scotland
- Italy
- Wales