To be English, or not to be English

[Hairy]

What with Jack Wilshire complaining no one should play for England unless they were properly English, who do you think should play for England at any sport? Did you have trouble with Tony Greig playing, Tuilagi, Trott, Farrah? What do you think you need to have to qualify to play sport for England? Passport? Birth? Both parents? One parent? What’s the take on ‘Englishness’?

Applies to the Celts on the board too.

[bless 'em all]

The ability to prove a direct link, via the male line of your family, to a member of King Harold's army that fought the Normans at the battle of Hastings.

[Hairy]

The ability to prove a direct link, via the male line of your family, to a member of King Harold's army that fought the Normans at the battle of Hastings.

Could we field a team?

[mudskipper]

Easy.

One question:

"If England are playing <insert country of origin> at <insert national sport of country of origin>, which team do you support?"

If the answer is England, they're English

[Mich the Tester]

No point in romanticising this; some sportspeople, like Farah and Tuilagi (dunno much about the others), seem to have a real desire to play for England or Great Britain, having lived there for a long time and feeling a part of the place. But look at it from a professional athlete's point of view; you've put in years of training, you've got the ability to get to the very top, but you've moved around a bit in life and not all the countries for which you're eligible will really give you a great chance of winning world or olympic titles, which is what top sportspeople drea about. England, or Britain, does offer you that chance, so who do you choose? Of course, it's then up to the selectors to decide whether your commitment to the cause is strong enough to merit a place, but one reason Britain or England do well in sport and attract the best sportspeople is that there are very competent selectors and coaches.