Southern stars rush to beat deadline
MORE than 30 Southern Hemisphere players will qualify for England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales before the longer residency rule takes effect.
World Rugby’s delay over enforcing the change from three years to five until the end of 2020 will allow almost two complete teams of New Zealanders and South Africans to change allegiance.
The Rugby Paper’s revelation of the trickle turning into a flood comes at the end of a week when Saracens’ player of the year, the South African flanker Michael Rhodes, spoke of his desire to play for England when he qualifies on residence at the end of next season.
A total of 22 Southern Hemisphere players – among them Jared Payne and CJ Stander who are preparing to return home as Irish Lions – have used
that same rule to appear in the Six Nations over the last two years.
The next wave of converts include many Junior All Blacks and Junior Springboks.
Tyler Bleyendaal, New Zealand’s U20 captain before transferring from the Crusaders to Munster, heads the list. The 25-yearold will be eligible for Ireland next season alongside Connacht’s blockbusting centre and fellow New Zealander, Bunee Aki.
Ulster tighthead Wieahn Herbst, an U20 international for South Africa, and Connacht’s Kiwi hooker Tom McCartney will also be free to wear the green next season.
Scotland’s new imports include Edinburgh’s Kiwi stand-off Phil Burleigh and Glasgow’s towering exWaikato lock Brian Alainu’uese, a 23-year-old who played under-age rugby for Samoa.
Wales also stand to gain. Johnny McNicholl, the Scarlets’ full-back-wing from the Crusaders, spoke about playing for Wales before leaving New Zealand. He qualifies in 2019 as will another ex-Crusader, Ospreys’ centre Kieron Fonotia, and Cardiff Blues’ ex-Hurricane Willis Halaholo.
The latest Scottish imports include Hurricanes flanker Callum Gibbins to Glasgow as well as two Junior Springboks – Edinburgh wing Duhan van der Merwe and Glasgow’s 19 ½ stone prop from the Stormers, Oli Kebble, whose father Guy became a hero at Northampton.
The postponement of the introduction of the new five-year rule gives recruiting agents the rest of this year to pre-empt the change without any adverse effect.
It gives the impression of World Rugby allowing as many British and Irish clubs as much time as possible to make more and more deals on the guarantee of a three-year apprenticeship for a cap. Sale’s Kiwi wing Denny Solomona will be the next to do so, for England in Argentina. And head coach Eddie Jones has called up two more New Zealanders – Gloucester scrum-half Willi Heinz and Bristol full-back Jason Woodward – for training alongside Worcester’s South African prop Nick Schonert.