2 Irish Internationals switch to England

[Leinster Exile]

RL news here

Their qualification rules are not very tight.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_l ... 284585.stm

[ringer]

Ah bless them, are'nt there mummy and daddy proud, I would'nt be anyway if i were their parents.
Good luck to them both, hope we'll be beating them soon on the pitch of rugby.

[Bobcat]

Could be wrong but I think Ben Harrison is qualified through his grandparents. Not really a surprise that he has switched to England ( think he played for England at underage level) but it is a pity as he was fairly good for Ireland in the world cup.

[Donny B.]

Ah who cares really?

[Sea_point]

Ah bless them, are'nt there mummy and daddy proud, I would'nt be anyway if i were their parents.
Good luck to them both, hope we'll be beating them soon on the pitch of rugby.

If you accept them with good grace, you should lose them with good grace too...

It's like the Cricket, playing for England gives these young lads the opportunity to fulfil their potential which in these particular sports compteting for Irealnd would not.

We lose quite a few of sportsmen and women every year to the GB teams becasue of the disparity in funding and availibility of specialist training/coaching faciities, most are from the North obviously but they aren't amking political statements just making a call that will hopefully benefit their short sporting careers ...

[Leinster Exile]

I wasn't having a go at them for switching to England , sure I'd do myself if they gave me cap

My point is the RL qualification rules are not very tight. They've made the decision and they are off straight away. The cricket is 3 yr qualification rule as is RFU, but you cannot play test rugby for 2 countries any longer.

[gfo]

Jesus, if we were to list all the English lads who played for the Irish football team we'd be here all day

[Leinster Exile]

Again , my point is the quickness of descision , no qualifying period etc

[Bobcat]

I think the way eligibility works in League is in yearly or two yearly cycles and is centered around tournaments with the world cup being the most recent tournament and a new cycle starting now. You do need to have a familial link with the country (parent or grandparent) or qualify thru residency. David Campese's nephew, Terry, was approached to play for Ireland this year but his link turned out to be a great grandparent. In the end he made the aussie squad. Brett White of the Melbourne Storm was named in the Irish squad this year but this was only finalised once the Kangaroo squad was named and he didn't make it. It does enable developing nations field more competitive teams though.

[tones]

The eligibility in League is amended all the time really. Hence the lack of clarity. Think they nearly view Ireland as a provincial side.

[Donny B.]

The eligibility in League is amended all the time really. Hence the lack of clarity. Think they nearly view Ireland as a provincial side.

To be fair, I think Ireland have benefited more from that dodgy eligibility rules than any of the other "home" nations, so they can't really complain. I think Shaun Edwards got an Ireland cap and he has no Irish connections whatsoever.

[Leinster Exile]

The eligibility in League is amended all the time really. Hence the lack of clarity. Think they nearly view Ireland as a provincial side.

To be fair, I think Ireland have benefited more from that dodgy eligibility rules than any of the other "home" nations, so they can't really complain. I think Shaun Edwards got an Ireland cap and he has no Irish connections whatsoever.

I thought I dreamed that, as I clearly remember him playing for England at the 95 world cup

[tones]

The eligibility in League is amended all the time really. Hence the lack of clarity. Think they nearly view Ireland as a provincial side.

To be fair, I think Ireland have benefited more from that dodgy eligibility rules than any of the other "home" nations, so they can't really complain. I think Shaun Edwards got an Ireland cap and he has no Irish connections whatsoever.

I thought I dreamed that, as I clearly remember him playing for England at the 95 world cup

He did alright. In Tolka Park. I know we have done, not we saying we haven't. But the rules aren't really rules, more lines written to cover whatever happens.

[Darce]

The eligibility in League is amended all the time really. Hence the lack of clarity. Think they nearly view Ireland as a provincial side.

To be fair, I think Ireland have benefited more from that dodgy eligibility rules than any of the other "home" nations, so they can't really complain. I think Shaun Edwards got an Ireland cap and he has no Irish connections whatsoever.

His mother and or grandmother is irish