Cup eligibility ‘circus’ blasted

Former Wales captain Paul Thorburn has labelled the Rugby World Cup ‘‘a circus’’ because of the sport’s eligibility rules that its bosses should be ashamed of.

He highlighted hosts Japan as a prime example, with 15 players in their squad qualifying on three-year residency terms.

‘‘The residency rules at national level are making a mockery of the test game,’’ Thorburn said in a hard-hitting article in Walesonline.

‘‘I look at what’s going on in Japan and would argue that maybe a country such as Argentina deserve to be World Cup winners as they don’t have any imports.

‘‘You look at some of the others and there’s no comparison.

‘‘Maybe they ought to have two World Cups, one for those who are genuine nationals of the countries they play for and another for those who want to play in a circus.’’

Thorburn felt the occasion was being tarnished by the multinational teams.

‘‘The World Cup has become massive, but, sadly, the rules on eligibility have spoiled it,’’ Thorburn said on Walesonline.

‘‘World Rugby should be ashamed of themselves.

‘‘Here we have a tournament that the host nation are getting behind. Matches are wellsupported and the welcome has been great for the various teams.

‘‘But then you have Japan fielding a squad that contains any number of players who are not Japanese, while much the same can be said for countless other countries, if not in such great numbers.

‘‘The tournament is being brought into disrepute, but I also think the same about the international game generally. The purity of it is being compromised.’’

Rugby is about to extend its residency qualifications from three to five years but that won’t appease Thorburn.

‘‘Personally I wouldn’t allow a residency qualification, full stop,’’ he told Walesonline.

‘‘But if we must have a residency period I’d make it a 10-year one, as a decade or thereabouts is generally seen as life expectancy for a test rugby career.

‘‘That would pretty much stop the numbers of players switching countries, and that would be a good thing.’’

Thorburn also highlighted Irish import Bundee Aki.

‘‘He is not Irish. He’s a New Zealander of Samoan descent.

‘‘When he was growing up as a kid, he was singing the New Zealand anthem or the Samoan one. All of a sudden, he’s singing the Irish anthem. You wonder how that feels.

‘‘. . . if people want rugby to become a circus, where you can change countries at will, then so be it. Let them get on with it.

‘‘But it’s not the sport I’ve grown up to love.’’