That's what you get when you score 9 (I think) tries in your first 9 games and youre Welsh but you don't play in Wales... and your surnames not Jones, Williams or Evans I guess
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There is no doubt that the rules around eligibility are a little 'shady'... I read that Rowlands has a Welsh father though. Not saying it's any 'better' really but just so we're all clear.
No if he has a Welsh father he is half Welsh then fine as he likely has no control over where he is brought up yet can choose but 1 grandparent that qualifies for a country then you should have to show some will to play for that country and in that country
I'm inclined to agree that 'ideally' (something we rarely if ever get in this world) a single grand parent (probably even two) shouldn't be enough to qualify for a country. My mention of 'not saying Rowlands having a Welsh father is any better' is more to do with the fact that... although I don't know the bloke I feel pretty confident in saying that he has always considered himself English and if both countries Unions were making overtures there is no doubt in my mind he would want to play for England (& rightly so too). So while having a Welsh father is 'better' than simply having a Welsh Granny (or whatever) the fact that the guy considers himself English (regardless of Welsh Father) means that (to me at least) it's of little consequence. Whether it's a granny or a Dad, it's still an Englishman playing for Wales. The only reason I pointed out he has a Welsh Dad is due to everyone just saying that all three of the 'surprising' call ups merely had a Welsh gran, when in reality only one does (Tomkins). The other two have 'better' (some would say) credentials for repping Wales. Rowlands has a Welsh Dad and John lived in Wales for all his youth, attending all of his schooling in Wales as well as repping Wales at all junior levels (out of the three, I'm perfectly fine with WGJ's eligibility btw).
Oh all 3 i think would consider themselves English, just as LRZ considered himself Welsh. And agree with your point.
Not sure about WGJ... I could be wrong. Tomkins and Rowlands though... definitely consider themselves English.
The RFU get proper ****** in this regard, even taking eligibility questions completely out of the equation, the amount of English academy products playing for other countries is increasing every year
Noticed Addison and Burns in the Irish squad.
Italy have 3(?), think Wales have 6, Scotland have 4 (though that number goes up if you count private school/university in England, as there's a few who skipped the academy step and went straight to pro - not sure if their setups receive any funding from the RFU though?)
Tbh i dont have an issue with that at all, they were eligible and chose Ireland(regardless of if they wanted england and wasnt going to get it) so they went to play for an irish team.
Ah yes, NZ and South Africa, those famous Six Nations sides.
I wanted exactly zero of those players to play for England, though.
Aye, the only way to really combat it would be to make kids decide at 15/16 who they want to play for internationally down the line - which obviously is ludicrous in the case of someone like Ross Moriarty (as it would mean he'd have to only play school rugby while at Hartpury, or commute to Wales to play for an academy there).
He's not eligible to play for Wales*, so sure, why not
