I agree with all of the first part of this. If they didn't have the chance to play for England, would Bridge or McIllorum have played for Ireland? Or Brough for Scotland? No chance, but Ireland and Scotland will have benefited from them playing, as will their younger players.

The rules weren't bent to suit the Aussies at all. They were bent to suit png. Costigan has always wanted to play for Australia, he has never really identified with his png heritage. He played for them at the world cup as it wouldn't affect his chances of possibly playing for qld and aus in the future. I have spoken to him about this personally as one of my good mates played for png in the rlwc. IMO, once he made the decision to play for png he should be eligible for noone else but hey, this is rugby league!

Lam moved to Australia as a small child, and as an exception was allowed to play for png and qld during the super league era. He was an exception to the rule at a time when rugby league was struggling, but yes it is a joke that he was allowed to do so.

Whats the difference between Uate and Tuquiri?

Two things,

firstly, if this was say the USA, getting a rich backer and paying $50k a man to heritage players in the NRL to switch eligibility to the US, we would be up in arms about how wrong it was. I cant really see what the difference there would be to this. Rep payments should be paid by the RLIF and be uniform.

secondly, this would be much less of a problem if pac island nations actually played top tier internationals regularly.

It is a big shame that there are not more internationals for the Pacific Island nations.

Look at who Fiji could selectLote Tuqiri (Wests Tigers)

3/4Akuila Uate (Newcastle), Wes Naiqama (Newcastle), Darrel Millard (Catalans), Ratu Peni Tagive (Sydney Roosters)/ Sisa Waqa (Melbourne)

5/8 Jarryd Hayne (Parramatta)

2RTariq Sims (Nth Queensland)

PRPetero Civinoceva (Brisbane), Ashton Sims (Nth Queensland)


No wonder Fiji came 4th in the 2008 World Cup (without Tuqiri and Civinoceva).

But then you're getting into rather risky territory there mate. It'd be like saying that because Ben Jones-Bishop is mixed race he should be representing Jamaica and not England. We could do pretty much the same thing for Jamaica and say, look how good Jamaica could be if they could pick all these players. I say that because most the Fijians you named are actually Australians.

Tariq Sims and Ashton Sims are born and raised Australians. Daryl Millard is a born and raised Australian. Ratu Peni Tagive is born and raised Australian. Wes Naiqama is born and raised Australian. Jarryd Hayne is born and raised Australian.

Petero Civinoceva has lived in Australia since before his first birthday, he's as Australian as any.

Lote Tuqiri is on the fringe, he moved to Australia at 15. Sisa Waqa and Uate are also what I'd call fringe for the same reason.

Out of all the players you named only Tuqiri, Waqa and Uate are questionable, and if you've met Tuqiri I wouldn't say it's questionable at all, he's an out and out Australian by any measure other than birth.

it would be great if Fiji could select all these people but only if they want to represent Fiji, I don't buy that Australia are just going out and taking talent from the Pacific Island nations. It'd be a bit like saying "look at all the talent England is stealing from Ireland" on the basis of a couple of players with Irish heritage or birth

That is exactly right Rancid.
At what point should a player that moved to another country as a kid be expected to play for the country of his Birth or Parents/Grandparents birth?
People saying Lote or Civ have been poached are dreaming they emigrated to Oz they had not played the game before moving to Oz.

Poached in the sense England are recruiting players that have little or no association with the game at any reasonable level from England but are recruited for their skills built elsewhere.
Reed
Heighington
Chase
Maurie Fasavalu
Widdop.
Poaching or enticing players to play for another country other than the one they reside in permanently and have played all of their grade League in or call home is far less prominent in Oz than it is in England or NZ.

Tuqiri was 15 months old when he moved here, not sure why his wiki page still says 15 years old.

I guess based on this often posted argument.
Ashley Cole
Glen Johnson
Joleon Lescott
Theo Walcott
Ashley Young
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Jermain Defoe
Danny Welbeck

Have all been poached by the current England Football team as they have third generation attachments to another nation.

The players that Australia have selected are Aussies similar to one third of the NZ team that beat them at the last World Cup.
Get over it, they have moved and made a life in Australia before they ever considered what Rugby League was.

Not disagreeing per se but Fasavalu hadn't played RL until he moved to England.. that seemed to be an argument on here
And Widdop grew up playing RL here and was in a pro teams scholarship before moving to Aus, I wouldn't say he was completely developed in Aus.
Heighington, Chase and Fasavalu are the contentious ones however dress it up how you like, only Chase is contentious compared to the poaching that has been going on for years by you boys. Reed is English and Heighington is dual nationality, both have never played for another country, certainly not questionable by anyones rules.

Back on topic it almost seems like discrimination! The islanders definately need to pick up more fixtures and more funding opportunities starting with this year! England should go on tour with a series against NZ to finish!

They dont all have third generation attachments to another nation, thats just some strange assumption you have made because they are all black or mixed race. Strangely you didnt look at the most obvious example in Owen Hargreaves but he is white.

Nobody has suggested any of these players should be forced to play for one nation or the other, they should have a choice. At the moment that decision is firmly weighted to one side and not the other.

If Akuila Uate wants to play for Australia then that is fine, if he feels more Australian than Fijian nobody has an issue with that. The complaint that people have is that Uate's choice isnt Fiji or Australia, its Fiji and 2nd tier, irregular international games, or Australia, tier one regular internationals, SoO, and £50k a season.

Uate shouldnt be missing out on SoO and financial reward because he wants to represent Fiji. He can be Fijian and NSW, in the same way he can be NSW and Country.

Maybe Hayne might want to.

I do not really follow football, I just listed some players that are current English squad players that are not Anglo Saxon and have roots from another country, like Hayne or Simms.

Is Hargreaves in the current England squad?
I thought he was a Canadian that maybe qualified for Germany on residency but was called up by England as a player better than they could develop through their junior system? (but his Dad was from the old Dart)

A bit like Heighinton or Chase.

A player should decide who he represents and thats final (as you suggested) I just get fed up with the concept that SOO is some black hole dragging players from other nations in to build an Australian squad.
If that was the case why does Benji Marshall an Australian Schoolboy not get sucked into the SOO vortex?

Most Australian get a bit defensive when a concept like SOO is built from nothing with plenty of detractors in the early days and is developed into a fantastic series that is the benchmark for the game in Oz, then every bugger says it should be open to other Nationalities and its too big and destroys the International game etc etc.
Maybe if some "BIG" teams were more competitive at Test level SOO would not be seen as the best v the best?

Then that is his choice, he should decide and stick with it.