What's your opinion on Rangi,or any other overseas player playing for England?

2 conditions for me:
Are they good enough
Do the qualify

Rangi Chase is both better than anything else England can put out at halfback and also qualifies, so that is completely fine for me, if it was someone like Nick Youngquest for example I wouldn't be so happy.

I'm fine with it. He's proven that he's one of the best players in the competition and he's better than the halves currently available for England. In that instance, you're adding quality to the player pool. Plus, I agree with Steve Mc that he's not blocking the path of youngsters. He's adding to the pool, driving up standards and improving THEIR game at the same time.

Your missing some fundamental points though :

(1) He ain't English (this residency rule is the biggest load of crap used by countries who aren't strong enough in their own player development and by players who can't get into their own national teams).

(2) Chase would not have made this move had it not been for his assault charge. Playing for England no doubt removes any issues surrounding him needing a new work visa, which he may have struggled with getting.

(3) If Chase did not play for Cas, I would wager some views may be different.

(4) I am suprised anyone can agree with anything McNamara says, the guys an absolute clown when it comes to RL coaching. Look at the squad he has picked. No Myler or Brough for the H/B options. No Atkins either (if my memory serves me correctly), a strong centre who has scored 20+ tries and improved his passing skills no end since he has been at Wire.

Going back to point (2), the bad news for you Cas fans is if he no longer needs a work visa, it will make it easier for him to move to another SL club in the future. The good news is having tied him to a longer term deal you will receive a significant transfer fee if it were to happen in the next few years.

I have very mixed feelings about chase playing for england, i personally wouldnt play players who werent born in england but since he is going to play i think i will enjoy watching him, if that makes sense.

Your second point is one that keeps getting repeated as truth by a number of wakefield fans but i have not seen any evidence to back it up.

How on earth does Chase qualify? Not English and has to be here a minimum of 5 years to qualify for british citizenship. You tell me how Chase qualifies.

1) We're not the only country or sport to use it. Even if it wasn't allowed in rugby league, he'd still be able to obtain a British passport after five years and would still be eligible for England selection then, like ANYONE coming to the UK.

2) Evidence/proof please? That's something said as gospel (again) by Wakey fans without no evidence to back it up.

3) If Chase played for Wakey, I'd expect YOUR views would be different too. As it is, I'm wholly supportive of the idea whether it be Chase, Reed, Heighington or Cherry-Evans. Nothing wrong with strength in depth.

4) I'm pretty sure I read (and was mentioned by someone on RLFans) that Atkins asked not to be selected. Otherwise, I'd believe he'd be involved in the Knights squad. Myler is a supportive scrum-half and even I wouldn't have picked him. Brough has been off-form and whilst I would have included him for his kicking game alone, at least Steve Mc is picking people in form rather than who they are or who they play for.

With regard to the last point, I'm pretty sure that Rangi is fully committed to Cas. He could have seen out his current contract at Cas and still played for Eng this season. So, I'm afraid you're probably just convincing yourselves that point 2 is true without any substantive evidence again.

Concur with that. Rangi has suggested it would be nice to play for a top side with the chance of winning silverware at some time in the future and you can't begrudge him that.

However, were he serious about wanting to move imminently he would have made it a lot easier for himself by not signing his contract extension. Then one of the top clubs could secure him in 2 yrs time for free or get him earlier for a more modest transfer fee. By signing an extension he has bumped his transfer fee up and so immediately made himself much less attractive to other clubs.

As regards nationality, it is nowhere near as straightforward as people make out.

Eg. If you are born in 1 country but then your family emigrates to another when you're a young kid such that you are educated in that country, go through the sporting systems in that country and call that country home, is it fair to say your nationality is that of the country where you were born even though you really don't know anything about that country? And that you cannot play for the national side of the country where you have spent the vast majority of your life?

If you were strict and said 'yes' to the above, then an awful lot of international players that have played for NZ and Australia over the years wouldn't have been able to.

Before people say "that's nowt like the Rangi Chase situation" - I agree. I'm just using this extreme example to illustrate a point. If you say that the player in the above situation should be able to play for his adopted country then the question arises as to where you draw the line. Some people say you've got to have been born in the country for whom you will play nationally, some say you must have citizenship, some are happy to let you do so if either of your parents or even your grandparents were born in that country.

To avoid any confusion, international sports have drawn up clearly defined qualifying criteria which essentially cover all of the above. On that criteria, Rangi Chase qualifies to play for England and as he expressed his wish to do so the only question now is whether the coach deems him good enough to pick him.

I appreciate this will divide opinion in the same way that who is the best left centre we have will divide opinion. But for anyone to say I'm not gonna support my national side because they've picked a player who I consider shouldn't qualify to play for them is just plain pathetic...

Read the big piece about him in the sunday people today.

Looks like he'll be here long after his playing days are over.

Because the eligibility rules are 3 years

www.people.co.uk/sport/other/rug ... -23491273/

www.people.co.uk/sport/other/rug ... -23491273/

I'm sure Chase is committed to Cas and won't be going anywhere. A contract worth 10% of your salary cap also helps mind!

The only reason it was 9 (Lovegrove is an Aussie we all know that, just like well know Willie Manu is an overseas player, despite not counting on any quota),

Is because Mason didn't get his tongan passport, if he had Rovers would have played him.

Fact is Rovers try to bend the rules as much as they can to get as many overseas players as possible.

Looks like Rovers will have 10 overseas registered players again this season

Webster
Green
O hara
Withers
Lovegrove
Galea
Mika
Paea
Clitnon

if they sign the FB they are rumored too.

11 - you missed out Dobson.

I'd rather see talented Aussies like Dobson green paea ect Show us how rugby league is ment to be played than see average players like westerman, sharpe and Ellis have a go at it. Yes we have lots of Aussies but at least it didn't stop us giving several youngsters first team rugby last year, unlike fc who were the only team not to give a youngster a go and also where the only team not to kick a 40-20 last season probably due to there old average injury prone half backs. Throwing six figure money at has beens like long and Horne has clearly done your club no favours and with a lack of British halfs around can you really blame clubs for looking overseas?

Well it worked - you finished 1 point above us! Westerman - average?? Its a shame we cant attract players of the calibre of Withers and O'Hara who managed to get their club to the bottom of the table.

Sorry cas fans, didnt mean to derail, but i was annoyed

kevin sinfield, rob burrow, danny brough, richie myler, theres four better halves than rangi chase for a kick off. Chase might have a decent game against the welsh, but that will be it. Overrated.

Idiot!!

Come back when you have an understanding of the game.

Rangi Chase has won a Man of Steel award, which none of the others have. Add to that Sinfield isn't really a half and that shows the extent of your knowledge.

I am a fan of opinions and can even leave room for ones that differ with mine, but that is just garbage. Rob Burrow is not even the 2nd best halfback at Leeds, underlined by Danny McGuire and Kevin Sinfield keeping him out of that place at that club.

I think you are overlooking the MOS award is niominated by the players peers and Rangi garnered more votes from his peers, opponents and fellow professionals - so their opinion is his contribution is greater than those you listed. I can't concur with you I am afraid and I think your post shows a naivety.

Errr tony martin

Westerman Is an average player who had one good season and never kicked on. And don't really see your point about withers and o'hara? If we signed thurstone at the start of the season would it be a bad signing because the cowboys finished practically bottom the season before?

Congratulations on making the worst point ever on this website



Lincoln Withers, Ryan O'Hara and finishing bottom of Super League =/= Thurston and finishing near the bottom of the NRL.

The Aussie Scrum Half =/= average plodders.

Jt's team would have finished bottom if it wasn't for storms point deduction. The point I am making just because they came from in theory the worst team in sl doesn't meant they are no good does it

Confirmed as a Robin:

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