The Rugby Thread

If we beat Wales next week we are number 1 heading into the World Cup.

On basis the England team in football would be 

De Gea

Azpilicueta   Van Dijk  Alderwilde   Robertson. 

Silva De Bruyne Kante

Salah Aguero Son

Eh no it wouldn’t, everyone one of them capped by their own country.

If you’re gonna mock the rule at least get it right

That doesnt make kleyn Aymore irish simply because he didnt play for south afirca.  Its a joke a rule, and if the above players above were not capped it would not make them English either. 

This is a classic case of the knowing the price of

Something but knowing the value.  International sport is undermined by the rules that rugby have.   Having players eligible to play for a team purely because they have played in that country for 3 years is a joke.  

Names with lads who who were signed 3 years ago but haven’t. Been capped what difference does it make. The general point still holds.  It’s crazy that the only thing preventing those players playing for England is That they have been capped by their country.  Arteta was a classic example of a player who wasn’t capped for Spain for years who could have played for

England but never happened.  There have been a good few more the Spanish keeper at Arsenal was another.  It’s a joke that the IRFU are signing players for clubs to put them in Irish squad.  Goes against the whole point of international sport.  

Baldrick's not totally incorrect here at all. 

DDG- no senior caps before joining MU

Apzilcueta- no senior caps before joining Chelsea

VVD- no senior caps before Southampton

Robertson- no senior caps before Hull

Kante- no senior caps before Leicester

I think the rest were capped pre moving to English clubs, but if rugby rules applied, all those lads above could have conceivably declared for England, despite the majority of them playing for their countries of birth all the way through underage. There was some talk of the Spanish Watford & Ex Arsenal keeper Almunia declaring for England under a residency rule some years back, nothing came of it though. 

Looked at in that light, it is indeed farcical, but I suppose that's what's going to happen when the bulk of the rugby playing pool, certainly the 'excess' element of it, is provided by a handful of countries like NZ, SA and some of the Pacific islands, unlike the global nature of football.