‘Giteau Law’ at threat after Springboks move?
South Africa’s landmark decision to scrap eligibility thresholds for overseas-based test players has turned attention on Rugby Australia’s handling of its own player drain ahead of the World Cup.
Australia is in the fifth year of the so-called Giteau Law era, in which overseas-based players are eligible for Wallabies selection only if they had 60 tests and seven seasons of Super Rugby in Australia under their belts before their move offshore.
That will come up for hot debate after the Springboks confirmed they are dismantling their two-year-old policy of limiting test selection of overseas-based players to those who had played 30 tests.
In a move that will send shockwaves through international rugby, SA Rugby also signalled its intent to ‘‘strictly enforce’’ its rights under World Rugby’s Regulation 9, which protects the rights of unions to call up players for test duty in designated international windows.
‘‘We have told the overseas clubs that we will be enforcing Regulation 9 and will be requiring our players for up to 14 weeks of the year,’’ director of rugby Rassie Erasmus said. ‘‘If the clubs don’t like that then they have the option of not signing the player.’’
It marks a seismic shift in South Africa’s approach to rugby’s international labour dynamics and prompts speculation about whether RA would follow suit.
Such a move was ruled out midway through last year, but a growing number of voices close to Wallabies coach Michael Cheika have advocated for a rethink, including former Wallabies coach Bob Dwyer and former Wallabyturned-pundit Drew Mitchell. Former Wallabies coach and News Corp columnist Alan Jones has also joined the chorus of voices to make a change.
‘‘We need success and if this is going to help it why not have a look,’’ Mitchell said on Fox Sports in December.
‘‘It makes Australian players less appealing to European club if they could potentially lose them to play for Australia and you’d get a response from the current guys saying ‘I’m not just competing against the guys locally, but externally as well’.
‘‘Even just the threat wouldn’t be too bad.’’
South Africa’s predicament is markedly different to that of Australia, with the weakness of the rand a huge factor in the union’s decision. Erasmus put it in stark terms: ‘‘A South African player can earn more from a twomonth contract in Japan than he can if he were to win the World Cup with the Springboks this year. That’s the reality we have to face up to.’’ of it