Residency rule is still ripping-off Irish talent

FIANNA FÁIL TD John McGuinness was not on our radar until he slammed the ‘disgusting culture’ in Irish banks in his capacity as Oireachtas Finance Committee chairman, incensed by the scandal which saw customers ripped off by banks refusing to allow access to tracker mortgages following the crash. Rugby has been suffering from its own ‘disgusting culture’ for many years, as countries swell their playing reserves through the use of quick-fix foreigners, ripping off indigenous talent in the process. Such as Munster centre Rory Scannell, who missed out in yesterday’s Ireland squad announcement due to the inclusion of Connacht’s Kiwi-born Samoan Bundee Aki following his threeyear residency qualification. The fact that, unlike the banks, there is nothing illegal involved or that Aki is a quality centre does not lessen the injustice of homegrown players missing out, or those affected by the presence of South Africans CJ Stander and (grandparent qualified) Rob Herring in the squad. The one encouraging aspect to it all is that the sense of blithe acceptance of the project player process is rapidly dissipating and there is far more public condemnation than existed when Richardt Strauss began the overseas flow five years ago. Perhaps this was even a factor in other projects Wiehan Herbst and Tom McCartney missing out. However, with the belated extension of the residency rule to five years not due to come in until the end of 2020, we are likely to continue to be disgusted for a while yet.