The sweaty basics pay dividends for new-look Gloucester.
The governing body of the global game have trumpeted the introduction of their revised five-year residency rule as if somehow it is the game’s knight in shining armour addressing an obvious injustice. The fact that the injustice of turning international rugby into a flags-of-convenience lottery is something that World Rugby (IRB) perpetrated all by themselves, with their crass decision to allow a three-year residency rule, is airbrushed out of the picture.
The three-year rule has not only done untold damage to the aspirations of second tier rugby nations like Fiji, Samoa and Tonga – who have had their players cherry-picked by richer nations – it also flies in the face of the tribalism that is such an integral part of international rugby, and, to a lesser extent, the club game. This tribalism is something that should be cherished rather than trampled on, particularly in a sport in which pre-and post-match camaraderie between rival supporters is a long-established tradition.
The reality is that most fans want to support their national teams because they identify with them through ancestry and a shared sense of history and heritage. Added to that there is the important weave of clubs – which are important community hubs in every rugby nation – seeing players who have been nurtured by them reach their full potential by achieving national honours.
Esta historia es de la edición September 03, 2017 de The Rugby Paper.
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Esta historia es de la edición September 03, 2017 de The Rugby Paper.
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