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The figure of kiwis moving to Australia annually is actually 55'000, with a net loss of 39'000(subtracting those who move home).
Foreign recruitment
- Thread starter Antony
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latrell247
Chris McKivat (8)
You have Sekope Kepu who was born in Aus but spent most his life in NZ playing NZ schools, u19s, u21s and is now a waratah and wallaby.
And Jack Lam who was born in NZ and spent most his life in oz playing Aus Schools, u19s and now plays for the Hurricanes.
Therefore Lam has been developed from the Aus rugby system only to return to play in his country of birth, same as Kepu
And Jack Lam who was born in NZ and spent most his life in oz playing Aus Schools, u19s and now plays for the Hurricanes.
Therefore Lam has been developed from the Aus rugby system only to return to play in his country of birth, same as Kepu
kronic
John Solomon (38)
Melbourne born.
southsider
Arch Winning (36)
i read a article somewhere with kepu saying he always wanted to play for the wallabies and always went for them whilst at school and coped crap for it. Even though he was raised mostly overseas, if what was written is true im more than happy for him to be a wallaby
Bairdy
Peter Fenwicke (45)
To be fair he was never going to play for Australia
James Buchanan
Trevor Allan (34)
Ultimately, its a professional game and players will move to where they have the best opportunities.
The reality of sport in Australia is that we are going to lose a ton of athletes to AFL and NRL just because of the level of general public support and media exposure they have. Recruiting Kiwis who want to play at an super (and potentially international) level and are willing to change allegiance to the Aussies fills that gap and is appreciative of the professional nature of the game.
I don't see any problem trying to get the best available players from other nations if they're willing to come over here and be resident and contemplate playing for the Wallabies. It may be that they will blossom under Australian coaches in a way they could/did not under New Zealand ones.
Ultimately, I want the best possible players playing for my Super team and the Wallabies. I don't care if they were born in Australia or New Zealand or outer Mongolia. If they become a naturalised Australian, they're an Australian.
The reality of sport in Australia is that we are going to lose a ton of athletes to AFL and NRL just because of the level of general public support and media exposure they have. Recruiting Kiwis who want to play at an super (and potentially international) level and are willing to change allegiance to the Aussies fills that gap and is appreciative of the professional nature of the game.
I don't see any problem trying to get the best available players from other nations if they're willing to come over here and be resident and contemplate playing for the Wallabies. It may be that they will blossom under Australian coaches in a way they could/did not under New Zealand ones.
Ultimately, I want the best possible players playing for my Super team and the Wallabies. I don't care if they were born in Australia or New Zealand or outer Mongolia. If they become a naturalised Australian, they're an Australian.
southsider
Arch Winning (36)
we should all just be thankful we dont have somthing that is similar to the farce that league has when it comes to international eligability
en_force_er
Geoff Shaw (53)
Amen but I would like to see it a little more lax if terms of representing more than one country if you're cross qualified.
Imagine if Luke Romano's career as an AB doesn't work out (I think it will). He would be amazing for Italy who have been pursuing him for years.
Ruggo
Mark Ella (57)
I hope they do. Had the pleasure of seeing him work at that goal since he was in under 8's. It would be sensational for me and many others to see him get that cap and we look forward to having a beer to celebrate his achievement.
The_Brown_Hornet
John Eales (66)
Fair enough but it's not the first time he's shot his mouth off. He's free to do it at the moment given the performance of his team over the past year or so but I can't wait until he loses a couple, especially if it's to us.
Bardon
Peter Fenwicke (45)
I'm a bit torn on this issue. On the one hand I think it's sad that someone like Isa Nacewa is lost to the international game. Played once for Fiji when he was 21 and apparently didn't realise it would disqualify him from playing for NZ but at the same time it's was his choice not to play for Fiji anymore.
On the other hand I wouldn't want to see international rugby becoming a mercenary sport where countries like Japan are recruiting ex ABs or other Tier 1 players who've finished representing their country. I think the fact a player knows they can only represent 1 country is a good thing in terms of making them think about which country they want to play for.
Nacewa's story is probably a good reminder for young players who are qualified for more than one nation to think carefully before deciding who to represent.
southsider
Arch Winning (36)
maybe somthing like a tier 3 nation can pick up a tier 1 player (if they are eligable of course) helps build up the struggling teams and wont effect the overall rugby landscape as much
en_force_er
Geoff Shaw (53)
Nobody wants to see that I more mean there's a heap of good PI players capped for the ABs and Wallabies (and recently France and England as well). If these blokes are unnamed for a couple of years wouldn't it be great to see them play for their country of ancestry?
Antony
Alex Ross (28)
Enforcer, I couldn't agree more. I think the way around excessive poaching is to have a requirement of a few years international inactivity, and pre-existing eligibility (e.g. Grandmother rule).
You'd still get some unsatisfactory results where big teams picked up players from smaller teams (like say the ABs went after Paul Williams when he played well for Samoa in the world cup), but it would iron out most of the more objectionable possibilities.
You'd still get some unsatisfactory results where big teams picked up players from smaller teams (like say the ABs went after Paul Williams when he played well for Samoa in the world cup), but it would iron out most of the more objectionable possibilities.
Groucho
Greg Davis (50)
Indeed so. New Zealand rugby benefited from PI immigration for decades. Now Australia is benefiting from it, and not just from the PI but from New Zealand, due to our prosperity. We can't stop these kids from playing rugby. We should hope to see more of it and scr*w Hansen.
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