World Rugby must fund Islands

THE volume has been turned up on World Rugby to allow socalled ‘capture’ players to have dual international eligibility, with James Haskell the most recent proponent.

Haskell believes that if players win one or two caps for the nation that captures them, but are not selected again, they should also be eligible for their country of origin. He argues: “Look at some of the All Blacks who don’t play for New Zealand anymore who could go back and play for Samoa, Tonga (and Fiji).”

One of these is the Bristol Bears full-back Charles Piutau, who won 15 All Black caps before signing lucrative club contracts in the UK.

Piutau now says he would like to play for Tonga, but while he and Haskell have made their case, it is not a solution to the almighty mess around international eligibility – for which the leading rugby nations are mainly culpable.

If there is no downside for those who are plundering players from the Islands on a speculative basis – with New Zealand, Australia, and France at the forefront – they will keep snatching the best talent.

The solution is not to let players like Piutau play for New Zealand and then Tonga, but instead to ensure that it is financially viable for them to play for Tonga, or Fiji or Samoa, in the first place.

This would involve a radical re-think with a World Rugby-administered fund used to close the massive match-fee gap between tier one and tier two nations, so Pacific Islanders are not disadvantaged financially from playing for their country.

Add to that stringent rules for international release by clubs and it will have a dual benefit for Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, and the game as a whole. It will not only hit the capture market with a body blow, but also create a bigger pool of truly competitive rugby nations.