Call me archaic, but why can't it be as simple as;

Being born on a bit of land which is considered a country and has a name. (i.e., England)

or

having parents which at least one of them were born on a bit of land which is considered a country and has a name (i.e., England)

and if the two don't apply, you're not eligible to play for representative sports teams of that bit of land.

Of course, nations are a merely construct, as are identities (multifaceted and dynamic as they are). But what's wrong with a bit of empiricism now and then?

What do Burgess and Co have to do with this. I'm not Australian so why would it bother me. Granted I'd be disappointed if they were good enough, same as if Reed had decided to play Origin.

Mona, Dobson if they want to play and are good enough get them in the side.

If they decided they wanted to play for Australia, so be it. It's their decision and the rules allow that to be made, whether that's rugby league, football, cricket, rugby union.

It's the typical rugby league 'woe is me' naval gazing. The issue is why English players aren't be developed better than Chase (if, indeed, he makes the final squad) and having a go at Chase, or indeed McNamara, isn't the issue. Why do clubs sign garbage like Korkidas instead of developing their own?

Man chooses to represent country he's made his home rather than where he was born. If a young English born player is good enough to be selected, he will be. Simple

Is that the same Rangi Chase that played for the Exiles

Now then Tom Carlisle - budding sports journalist - have you created a brand new thread and ignored to on-going Rangi thread just to promote your site?

Tut tut.

I dont think it will make it look bad, because this kind of thing goes on in sport all over the world, English RU didnt look bad when they selected Hape and Tuilagi, the fans actually love them, so im hoping that Rangi can be a big hit for England and the fans will love him. I do understand the fact though that he could slow the progress down of up and coming youngsters like Gaskell and Lomax.

Not like you to be cynical

It's not judged on 'seasons', that wouldn't make any sense. The reason for the residency rule is to cater for people who's families have migrated, the fact that it is used by players who have signed for clubs in other countries is just a loophole. Chase arrived in England on 23rd November 2008, and so will not be eligible to play for England until 4 days after the 2011 4N final.

My apologies, Rich. Not necessarily ignored the Rangi thread, and not really a promotion.
I'm just in need of feedback with what I'm doing, and would rather it not be bypassed. I'm sure you understand

ellis has already played for england therefor it would be wrong if he switched to australia...thats our (international RL) biggest issue...players nation hoping having already played for another nation

if george wanted too switch,having not played for england yet and completed the 3 years residency in australia then its england lose


thats modern day sport

do me a favour and go dig out the RLIF eligibilty rule book and clarify the law for me.....oh yeah thats right it's not actually written down anywhere lol


3 seasons is 3 RL years

Its good for the England National Team

As simply he is a class player

as far as it goes for young English players its a blow

No, the rule is 3 years, not 3 seasons or 'RL years'. The rule is intended for the likes of Civoniceva who migrate at a young age rather than players who sign for foreign clubs such as Chase. I'm sure England will get away with it because the international administrators are as stupid as most of the fans, but that doesn't mean Chase is eligible.

As he not just been voted as the "Best Overseas Player." at the MOS ceremonies.

I think its bad news and brings the game into disrepute

We may as well ask the NRL to field a team on our behalf and let our up an coming halfbacks have a longer holiday from now on. This will do more to damage our international standing then improve it, the whole sport is a joke at times.

More so than the Aussies picking a Fijian international?

Give your head a shake, in no way at all does it bring the game into disrepute.



None of the up & coming halfbacks are good enough, that's why Chase has been picked in front of them, Lomax is nowhere near good enough to be an international half back nor is Myler or Gaskell.

Yes. We should not be picking Aussies or Kiwis, we're not a developing country and frankly we should be embarrassed that we have to resort to this. As with Heighington, we have picked a player who sees us as a second choice, because they weren't good enough for their first choice. Chase stated in the September RLW that he wanted to play for NZ in the Four Nations and now a month later, he suddenly wants to represent England. Didn't really agree with Reed, but at least he chose us over Origin/AUS and clearly wants to play for England as his first choice.

But thats the point, we ARE starting to develop our own, then go pick a Kiwi. We have a team, who are in the GF, who have played with two young half-backs all year, done an amazing job, and had their path blocked by a New Zealander. Yes Chase is extremely talented. But he's not English. All those saying play Monoghan , Dobson as well etc, we still won't beat the Aussies, all the interviews will be an embarrssment with their aussie accents.

It looks like most of the English players, retired, past-it, young old etc are all against the move. Theirs is the most important. What does that do for our sport and how why would a young player want to choose to play RL when any chance of an England selection will be blocked.

Why don't we just rename it SL v.s NRL.

Because he's better than both and by quite some distance, Gaskell and Lomax are nowhere close to being good enough to play for England YET, they both need to improve their kicking games, passing and all round game awareness.



He is now though, just because he wasn't born here doesn't mean you can't say he isn't English when it's the country he calls home and wants to represent.



They don't like it because they're all stuck with the same bigoted attitude of half of the people on here, oh no he wasn't born in England - the bloke is more English than Jack Reed.

I agree with Myler as he's had chances, but Lomax and Gaskell haven't, so how do you know they're not good enough?

Because you can see from watching Super League games that neither are good enough at the minute to play at international level, they don't have the kicking games and Gaskell appears to always look to step inside and go himself instead of passing it wide, Lomax just makes poor decisions they need a couple more years at Super League level yet.

A certain Benji Marshall is always going to keep Rangi out of the NZ team, and obviously he knows that but also knows that hes good enough to play international rugby, so thats why he approached England, and the RFL have welcomed him with open arms because they know he is a class player and that he could make a difference in the 4 nations and in the future.

Or maybe it's because he's said before this years Exiles game when he played AGAINST England that he hoped it would be a sprinboard to represent New Zealand. Whatever you think of the English players, their opinion matters more than yours & mine.

We have some talented English players who want to represent THEIR country. We just have this urban myth that because we don't have a Kiwi or Aussie accent, we;re not as good as them.

What gets me is the hypocritical RFL bringing in the licensing to help develop the youth, clubs do that, and then the RFL let a load of overseas players represent England.

Like Rangi Chase who has fully pledged himself to the English cause?

Just because he has a Kiwi accent doesn't mean he shouldn't play for the country he has lived and worked in for the majority of his professional career.

It's the small minded attitude of people like you and a few players that's holding the team back, not picking quality players like Chase who will improve the team.

Can you source that other that Senior and probably RL's own rent a quote Gary the drunkard Schofield?