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Home > IRB amends law: ex-All Blacks/Wallabies can play for Pacific teams

IRB amends law: ex-All Blacks/Wallabies can play for Pacific teams [1]

Nuku'alofa , Tonga

Monday, August 4, 2014 - 19:11.  Updated on Tuesday, August 5, 2014 - 17:04.

A landmark change in the International Rugby Board (IRB) rules will make it possible for Rugby players to play for more than one country so long as they hold a passport for the country they represent.

The rule change could be a big boost for Pacific Island teams Tonga, Fiji and Samoa. There are many former All Black and Wallaby players of Pacific Island descent and those who hold Tongan/Samoa/Fijian passports will be eligible to represent their native countries.

IRB regulations orginally restricted rugby players from representing more than one country, but this stance was recently changed to accommodate Olympic requirements for Rugby Sevens to be included in the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil.

The rule change however, may turn out to be a disadvantage. Many Pacific Island rugby players hold New Zealand/Australian passports meaning that successful players in the Ikale Tahi, Manu Samoa and Fiji will be open targets for poaching.

rugby [2]
IRB [3]
Tonga [4]
Fiji [5]
Samoa [6]
Ikale Tahi [7]
Pacific Rugby Players [8]
Sports [9]
Source URL:https://matangitonga.to/2014/08/04/irb-amends-law-ex-all-blackswallabies-can-play-pacific-teams

Links
[1] https://matangitonga.to/2014/08/04/irb-amends-law-ex-all-blackswallabies-can-play-pacific-teams [2] https://matangitonga.to/tag/rugby?page=1 [3] https://matangitonga.to/tag/irb?page=1 [4] https://matangitonga.to/tag/tonga?page=1 [5] https://matangitonga.to/tag/fiji?page=1 [6] https://matangitonga.to/tag/samoa?page=1 [7] https://matangitonga.to/tag/ikale-tahi-0?page=1 [8] https://matangitonga.to/tag/pacific-rugby-players?page=1 [9] https://matangitonga.to/topic/sports?page=1