I would like to see AUS NZ and England not pick players who have represented other countries at international level.

This would certainly be the first case I can think of for the england team.

I don't have a problem if you have represented say Australia and then play for Lebanon but not vice versa.

He is a points machine in fantasy nrl. Apart from the fact he isn't English he would walk into the England team in the back row alongside Ellis and Burgess but could also be used as a 6 as he played there for the eels a few years ago and drops in there every now and then in games for the warriors. Great pair of hands and loves to offload. Would definitely improve England's attack around the edges which is what England have lacked over the years.

Congratulations, you've just killed any chance of other nations being competitive with the big three at international level.

If you're a young New Zealander with ambitions to represent the Kiwis but who qualifies for Fiji/Samoa/Tonga through parentage and one of those "lesser" nations comes knocking first, are you going to blow your chances of ever representing New Zealand by opting to play for them?

Similarly nobody with aspirations of playing for England is going to opt for Scotland/Wales/Ireland, which they can do at the moment in the knowledge that they can always switch if they get the opportunity and meet the qualifications.

good player

whether he should play for england or not is another matter

british passport?? english mother? a good case

other countries do it, and we wont be moaning if we win the world cup!

Heighington was singing the Aussie national anthem before the Souths v Wests game! Not very good is it

It is this sort of attitude and way of thinking that holds our sport back internationally more than anything, not improves it. If a player is not willing to commit to a country then they should not be playing for them. Of course, a fairer schedule for all nations is needed to make playing for 'minor' nations more of an attractive alternative. But looking for a quick fix instead of developing national squads over the next decade is why we are in the position we are currently in!

oh well we know why macnamara is off to aus now, its not to visit the nrl based english players, its to tap up nrl players to play for england. we need these players to represent the smaller nations like tonga and png, otherwise the international game will never get stronger if the bigger nations continue to cream off the best of their talent

I hope McNamara taps up at least 40 players from the NRL who legitimately qualify to play for us under the international eligibility rules. I don't care whether they are caucasian, black, yellow, aussie, kiwi, islander, muslim, mormon, martian, lebanese or got a funny sounding name which anglo saxon morons will never be able to grasp the spelling of correctly. If they qualify, they qualify... get over it. The day when we can field 17 players from the NRL is the day when even I might believe we are capable of beating Australia and actually winning something. Until then, we've no chance.

He never learns.

every time this happens i lose a little bit more interest in international rugby league.

One of the best backrowers in the world on his day. Why not?

Aussies have been doing it for years.
Lote Tuqiri
Tonie Carrol
Willie Mason
Akuila Uate
Antonio Kafusi
Tony Williams

Does Rolf Harris qualify?

Yes through residency

T-Rex is Australian.

Played for tonga first though

He did in the rlwc under the proviso that it wouldn't affect his future Australian chances, same deal as Jennings. Just a few weeks earlier they played against tonga for the junior kangaroos. Just another reason we need a one nation for life rule!

The only one on that list who could be regarded as a "doing it for years" type scenario is uate. Kafusi played for Australia first, the other 3 played one off tournaments in the 2000 rlwc for another country to make other teams more competitive, which is of course is ridiculous but that is how the leaders of our sport think. Instead of actually developing national teams, they go for the quick fix which does nothing for the sport in the long run.

Im pretty sure Kiwi born kiwi world cup finalist Tonie Carroll didnt represent New Zealand in the 2000 wc to make them competitive.

And maybe born and raised fijian international Lote Tuqiri might take issue with someone describing his representing the country of his birth, his childhood, and his heritage as a badge of convenience.

Just how are the likes of Tonga going to 'develop' if you can only play for them and nobody else? You've just destroyed the interest of any ambitious NRL players in ever playing for them, and at the same time prevented past-it Kiwis from playing for them at the end of their career. What kind of teams would they be able to field then (bearing inmind they are already miles behind even England)?

As for Mateo, he'd be excellent. Personally I think McNamara is doing a bang up job at least as far as recruitment goes. As far as I can tell he's not 'tapping' anybody - he's just letting it be known he's open to discussions and letting players approach him - which means they are already showing a level of interest. He's also playing to the same rules as other sports, which seem to bring barely a murmur of protest.

International RL will only 'develop' if England and NZ are regularly competitive with Australia. All countries beyond that group are irrelevant in terms of competition until that happens.

I believe any player with english parents should defo be able to represent england, whats wrong with it.

At the time Carroll was a qld rep and in the Australian train on squad for the world cup. He was given assurances that playing for NZ wouldn't affect his future qld and Australian chances.



He was not raised in Fiji, he left there as a toddler. It would of been great if tuqiri played for Fiji for his career, but he was given the same assurances as carroll and had no intention of sticking with them post world cup.

Feleti Mateo?
As has just been commented on NZ radio, maybe it was the thought of playing for England that led to all that dropped ball against the roosters at the weekend



On his day, he's a class player, but bearing in mind he lasted half a season in London (English Passport origins I believe), he has represented Tonga in a RLWC, the Aussie Schoolboys, Junior Roos, NSW Juniors and NSW City, it does make a bit of a farce of the rules.
He was born in Australia and he has represented them at 2 age levels, as well as playing for the NSW juniors......switching to England just smacks of desperation on both parts.

Quote ="hutch"At the time Carroll was a qld rep and in the Australian train on squad for the world cup. He was given assurances that playing for NZ wouldn't affect his future qld and Australian chances. He was not raised in Fiji, he left there as a toddler. It would of been great if tuqiri played for Fiji for his career, but he was given the same assurances as carroll and had no intention of sticking with them post world cup.'" “I've always said I'm a Kiwi,” Carroll said in the interview with One Sport. “I love being a Kiwi" www.theaustralian.com.au/news/ca ... 1115551633 Hardly a badge of convenience. Maybe more players would choose to stay with their original nations if they ever got games against the big boys and the ARL didnt dangle the carrot of SoO as a reward for switching.

Quote ="hutch"At the time Carroll was a qld rep and in the Australian train on squad for the world cup. He was given assurances that playing for NZ wouldn't affect his future qld and Australian chances. He was not raised in Fiji, he left there as a toddler. It would of been great if tuqiri played for Fiji for his career, but he was given the same assurances as carroll and had no intention of sticking with them post world cup.'" “I've always said I'm a Kiwi,” Carroll said in the interview with One Sport. “I love being a Kiwi" www.theaustralian.com.au/news/ca ... 1115551633 Hardly a badge of convenience. Maybe more players would choose to stay with their original nations if they ever got games against the big boys and the ARL didnt dangle the carrot of SoO as a reward for switching.

Aussie's at it again. www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/ ... 6320055379

Aussie's at it again. www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/ ... 6320055379