Quote ="jools"As I understood it the finnegan thing was classed as a special case because his family had emigrated to Australia when he was a boy where he'd played some of his rugby between 16-21 but then his family came back when he was in his late teens so he came with them. he'd not spent quite 3 years playing u21 in this country.
I was under the impression that a few European passport means you dont class as overseas but are still non-federation trained- the emphasis on trained- players who haven't played three years of rugby between the ages of 16-21 for clubs in countries that are part of the European federation are classed as non-federation trained -regardless of what passport they hold. The only exceptions are for players who were already playing in SL before the rule came in. Not aware that's changed.'"
I believe that is what the RFL tried to offer Finnegan, but he felt it restricted his options to find a new club so went ahead with his case and won. If you think about it he is British born in this country, nobody has the right to discriminate against him by denying him the right to certain jobs. His circumstances are rare, but while in the European union what applies to Britons applies to all European citizens and so an Aussie with an Italian Grandparent can evade the rule, which is still in place.
There may be a subtlety in there I haven't quite grasped, but that is how I understood it when explained to me. It is also a while ago so my memory may have simplified it.
I'm looking forward to a quality young talent coming in for a centre who is unhappy at the club and has made no secret of his desire to leave for the NRL.
