Perelini blasts England for selecting Solomona
SAMOAN legend Apollo Perelini has applauded World Rugby’s decision to raise the residency ruling from three years to five.
With a team made up of ex-pats and only three local Emiratis, the head coach of the United Arab Emirates stands to suffer more than any of his peers because the eligible pool of players available to him will shrink considerably.
But the 47-year-old is still in favour of the change, particularly in countries like England where players such as Ben Te’o and Denny Solomona have been fast-tracked into the national team ahead of those who have come through the system.
“It saddens me that the country whose playing population is four times greater than the next country cannot produce players better than Denny Solomona,” he told TRP.
“It must be gutting for any player coming up through the ranks in England for their place to be taken up by someone who has been in the game for two seconds.
“What does that say to every winger in England? There are a lot of brilliant wingers in the Premiership who’ve been overlooked for overseas Rugby League converts, like Denny Solomona and Ben Te’o.
“I coached Ben when he played for Samoa in Rugby League. He is a lovely kid but I still think that England should take someone that’s English. Bringing in the five-year residency is better for the kids who come through the system.”
Perelini added: “It is different for us here in the UAE, I have to pick ex-pat players otherwise we wouldn’t be able to play competitive international rugby.
“I probably only have a pool of 30 Emirati players to choose from and a lot of them have only been playing for one year.”
Former Exeter player Ed Lewsey, brother of 2003 World Cup winner, Josh, is one of the many ex-pats within the UAE ranks.
The Abu Dhabi Harlequin has kept his place in the squad for the Asia Rugby Division 1 Championship, which starts today in Malaysia and forms part of the regional qualification process for the Rugby World Cup in Japan.
While the chances of Ed joining Josh as a World Cup competitor are slim to say the least – they would need to get promoted to the Top 3 and then see off the likes of Hong Kong and Korea to stand any chance – Perelini refuses to give up hope.
“Anything is possible. I’ve worked out it’ll take us at least nine wins to get us to the World Cup,” the former Sale and St Helens RL star said.
“Our focus is purely on winning all three games in Malaysia. The boys are confident.”