Slater is Australlian. Harrison isn't Irish. He was born in Cumbria.

and has played 3 matches for Ireland

And? He is an Englishmen and i'd love him to play for England who cares if he's played 3 matches for Ireland. You play for your country and no doubt if Ben gets a phone call in the futher to playfor Enland he will accept. Simples.

but wrong

In what way ? He was born in England and lived in England all his life, HE is ENGLISH therefore should play for England, whats wrong about that?

Why did he choose to play for Ireland then ?

Do you think Chris Bridge shouldn't play for England, Yed?

Probably because at the time he thought he had no chance of breaking into the England setup which he didn't and probably wanted to go to Australlia and play in a world cup. He does know though, imporved vastly

The laws of the game allow him to play for England after playing for Ireland so he isn't breaking any rules no matter what people's personal opinions are.

Agreed. If you want to fly the flag of convenience because your Grandma was born there and you think it'll be easier to get in their team then fine, but once you've made your choice and represented ANY country that should be that. No switching.

My stance is choose once and except the consequences, i don't care how good they are.

Soon as you play one game for a country THAT is YOUR country.

It's stupid. We have a young uprising star who is English yet some fool would rather him not play because he has played for Ireland.

I wouldn't mind but it's not breaking any rules

Then why do the rules say differently ?

Not that easy though. This is RL we are talking about.

I'm not on about the stupid rules drawn up by a totally inept governing body of the game, it's my opinion and personally i think this rule needs closing.

He's not saying it is. He's merely voicing his personal opinion and I agree with him.

In professional terms Ben Harrison is now Irish. To say he isn't is an insult to the Irishmen who supported him in the World Cup.

Would you be saying this if Harrison was to close a last minute try to beat the Aussies (never going to happen), No i Think not.

Hasn't he already trained with the England squad at the the end of last year?

Imagine then if we produce another player as good or better than Ellery Hanley, he plays about 10 games for England and everyone raves how good he is BUT then when the world cup comes along finds out he has a long lost relative in Australia and off he pops to wear the Green and Gold.
I'd love to see your response then.

But it's foolish. The rules say differently so you have to accept that.

I'd have to accept it because the rules say that is ok, lifes a bitch and all that.

This is an actual law

It is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament

rules is rules you know

This daft rule doesn't apply in other sports so why RL allows it I don't know. In football you can switch allegiance after playing up to under 21 level or a first team friendly but once you play a single competitive match for a senior international side (as Ben Harrison has for Ireland) you cannot switch.

I don't know the rules in cricket but how much of a national scandal would it cause if Kevin Pietersen decided now that he fancies playing for South Africa after all and bins England off? I don't think the national media or cricket fans would take too kindly to that and would rightly regard every appearance he has previously made for England as a national insult, but if an RL player does it then he will be breaking no rules. Ridiculous.

Ridiculous it may seem but as Yed say's rules are rules.

I agree with you big fella.