England V France

[Mich the Tester]

Pieter De Villiers is available

I think he'll stay available for a while.

[DodgyAgent]

On the basis of having uttered the last two words I declare Rob Andrew a prat who should be fired.

he would make a good recruitment consultant

[Mich the Tester]

he would make a good recruitment consultant

...going forward?

[psychocandy]

He should never have played for Scotland, he was not Scottish. Many ex-Scottish internationals, particularly Gavin Hastings were not chuffed about it either. He was legally in the country though, your man wasn't and was up for deportation.

Immigration law is very clear on this, you over stay your visa then you get deported and have to apply in your home country for whatever visa you require. He should be playing for Samoa. What kind of message ar we sending out here?

Remember Brett Sinkinson. Wales asked him if he had any Welsh relatives and he said, yes, grandmother was from Wales. So he played for years and no-one checked, then got found out.

Apparently, his grandmother was from Oldham and didnt know (or didnt care) that its not in Wales....

[Mich the Tester]

Remember Brett Sinkinson. Wales asked him if he had any Welsh relatives and he said, yes, grandmother was from Wales. So he played for years and no-one checked, then got found out.

Apparently, his grandmother was from Oldham and didnt know (or didnt care) that its not in Wales....

Personally I couldn't give a toss about all these nationality and national team discussions; I think if a player lives or plays in some country and wants to play for the national team, then if he's good enough, let them pick him. Rugby doesn't need all that petty minded crap. Some people move around the world and live in different countries; live with it.

[Troll]

Personally I couldn't give a toss about all these nationality and national team discussions; I think if a player lives or plays in some country and wants to play for the national team, then if he's good enough, let them pick him. Rugby doesn't need all that petty minded crap. Some people move around the world and live in different countries; live with it.

But that sort of defeats the concept of National sport though doesn't it? & means the richest countries can just import the talent rather than nurture the home grown

[Mich the Tester]

But that sort of defeats the concept of National sport though doesn't it? & means the richest countries can just import the talent rather than nurture the home grown

For you, maybe, for me, no.

[Troll]

For you, maybe, for me, no.

Surely the teams would just become the equivalent of Man U, Chelsea, Barcelona etc.
Whoever has the biggest chequebook wins

[Arturo Bassick]

For you, maybe, for me, no.

Have to go with Troll on that Mich.

A nations pride and all that....

[Mich the Tester]

Surely the teams would just become the equivalent of Man U, Chelsea, Barcelona etc.
Whoever has the biggest chequebook wins

Talent's sometimes 'homegrown', but real top performances will often be imported anyway; coaches are hired from all over the world, promising sportspeople are sent around the world to train and play with the best in their game, equipment is purchased from around the world, athletic training methods are researched all over the world; all this is about importing sporting improvements and of course gives the richer countries or clubs an advantage over the poorer. That's high level sport; the old fairy tale of a great from just down the road practising every day in his back garden and then taking on the world and winning is exactly that in most sports nowadays; a fairy tale.