Ancestral nightmare for ARU and John O'Neill

[travelling_gerry]

Bret Harris | March 27, 2009 Article from: The Australian

ARU chief executive John O'Neill is proud of his Irish heritage, but it is unlikely he would have been too pleased with an announcement by the Irish Government on St Patrick's Day.

Thousands of Australians will find it easier to take out Irish citizenship after the announcement that foreigners with an Irish great-grand parent would be eligible.
At present, Ireland requires a person to have at least one Irish grand parent to claim ancestral right to citizenship.

But Ireland has decided to loosen the rules to extend naturalisation rights to people who are one generation further away from their Irish roots.
As a result of the Irish diaspora of over 80 million people, this initiative will have political and social ramifications around the globe, including the world of rugby.
In particular, Australian and New Zealand rugby will be significantly affected.
If you have Irish citizenship, you also carry with it a coveted European Union passport, which gives you the right to live and work in 27 nations - and that applies to professional rugby players as much as anyone else.

Since the advent of professional rugby in 1995, Australia and New Zealand have been suffering from a player drain to rich clubs in Europe.

Several years ago Australia lobbied the IRB to abolish the grand-father clause, which allowed Australians of European grand parentage to play as locals in Europe and represent European national teams in Test rugby.

Now the Irish are opening the door to the spoils in Europe to a whole new generation of players.

For South Africa, New Zealand and Australia (SANZAR), this could not come at a worse time.

The SANZAR partners are currently discussing the expansion of Super rugby to a 15-team competition with an additional team in either Australia or South Africa.
It appears Australia will secure a fifth Super rugby franchise in Melbourne, Gold Coast, western Sydney, Central Coast or Newcastle.

But there are question marks over whether Australia has sufficient depth to support a fifth team.

O'Neill has effectively acknowledged this by saying the ARU would look at filling a new Super rugby team with Australians playing overseas, rugby league converts and Pacific Islanders and Argentinians.

Certainly, there is a whole squad of Australians playing in Europe and Japan - Manny Edmonds, Peter Hewat, Adam Wallace-Harrison, Justin Harrison, David Lyons, Rocky Elsom, Steve Kefu and Rodney Blake to name but a few.

And there is just as many, if not more, New Zealanders playing in Europe.
That does not even include rugby league converts Mark Gasnier, Sonny Bill Williams and Craig Gower.

Some of these players such as Elsom and New Zealand inside backs Dan Carter and Luke McAllister are coming back to the Antipodes to be part of the 2011 World Cup.
Elsom, Carter and McAllister are party of a new trend of high profile players earning big bucks in Europe between World Cups.

But how is the ARU going to lure the majority of Australian players playing overseas to come back, especially as there are other players such as NSW Waratahs fulback Sam Norton-Knight who are on their way to Europe or Japan at the end of this season?

Most of the players who head overseas are Super 14 standard players who cannot secure an ARU top up to their contracts.

The ARU's Clayton's salary cap restricts them to earning no more than $155,000 a season unless they secure a wild card, which bumps up their worth to about $220,000.

The Australian expatriates are earning much more than this in Europe and Japan.
Once they realise their dream of playing for the Wallabies is either over or never going to happen, they have little financial incentive to remain in Australia.

The only reason players do not go overseas is for family and friends or lifestyle reasons.

Every now and then an Australian prodigal does return from Europe or Japan, but the traffic flows much more heavily in the opposite direction.

To be sure, the decision by the Irish government to extend citizenship will only increase the player drain from the southern hemisphere to the northern hemisphere, which will inevitably undermine ARU attempts to fill a fifth Super team with Australian expats.


http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...015651,00.html

[Burgs]

Again, time for the ARU to be PROACTIVE not REACTIVE

[James]

Trust the Irish to go and cock everything up.

I wouldn't be that worried about it really though. The ARU is always doom and glooming about the player drain. Big spending European clubs tend to hunt mostly only Wallabies- who already make a fair bit of money. If they want seconds grade players they usually hit up NZ and South Africa. A fifth franchise will hit all of the other teams pretty hard but in a year or two we'll have enough young guys to regenerate the numbers. Look at the great effort Queensland has put in. Unusually for Australian Schoolboy sides we've had a couple of wins over the NZ Schoolboys side in the last few years- including one in NZ (last year I think). Just wait until they hit the scene. If all things go according to plan the WA player base will start cranking out highly capable juniors and might relieve a bit of the pressure.

[TOCC]

Again, time for the ARU to be PROACTIVE not REACTIVE

such as?

[Thequeerone]

Trust the Irish to go and cock everything up.

So apart from the DNA in most Australians, Americans and New Zealanders what have the Irish ever done for us, well apart from the Guinness, the silly dancing, the leprechauns and of course all those jokes what have the Irish ever done for you - let us agree that although you are not Irish you have the right to be Irish even if you don't want to pay the Irish Government for the privilege of being Irish.

Best bit of marketing I've seen from the Government of late.

PS what's the difference between Ireland and Iceland - 6 months and an R.

[Darren]

I might actually have an Irish great grandparent under a tombstone somewhere ...

[Thequeerone]

Pay for your passport and your kids get to work and study in Europe !

Used to run into salesmen who all had Irish Passports as it was one of the few available that would allow you into Israel and Iran without dramas - don't know if that is still true.

[Burgs]

I think 80% of the anglo world are now eligible to play for Ireland...
Little green buggers breed like rabbits wherever they go...

[jargan83]

so, my great grandmother was born in Ireland, so now I qualify to be Irish?

[Burgs]

Yup, go sign up, they get a discount on Guinness

[jargan83]

pass, I was born Australian and I will die Australian. The only reason I can think of to sign up would be if I travel there on holiday

[Burgs]

I think it is still a generation or two short on either side for my mob.