Wallabies coach Dave Rennie will be forced into some agonising selection decisions after Rugby Australia announced its new policy for picking overseas-based players.
The Wallabies, Wallaroos and Australian sevens teams can now pick a maximum of three overseas players if they have played 30 or more Tests and/or given five years service to Australian rugby.
Coaches can also pick players if they have signed a contract to play in Australia the following year.
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Today’s changes to the old ‘Giteau Law’ come after RA loosened the criteria for the Wallabies in a difficult pandemic environment last season.
Rennie will now have some fascinating selection calls ahead of next year’s Rugby World Cup as he mulls his three top guns.
Quade Cooper, Samu Kerevi, Marika Koroibete, Rory Arnold, Will Skelton and Tolu Latu will all be in the mix.
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“These amendments reflect a fit for purpose policy which will help our national teams compete at their best on the international stage across both the XVs and sevens games,” RA chief executive Andy Marinos said.
“The updated policy follows extensive consideration and consultation, to ensure we could find the right balance between the importance of selecting players within our domestic competition structures, while also allowing the selection of overseas players as an exception, rather than a rule and only if that player has made a significant contribution to the game in Australia.”
The announcement comes after a busy week of wins and losses for RA.
Kurtley Beale and Pete Samu have announced new deals to play in Australia but Lukhan Salakaia-Loto and Nick Frost are heading offshore.
Locking in Taniela Tupou beyond 2023 is one of the organisation’s top priorities.
“Rugby is a global sport and we recognise the challenging environment we operate within where we realise we cannot keep all players on our shores,” Marinos said.
“This policy shows we will continue to prioritise the players that are playing in Australia. These will be the first group of players considered for international selection before further consideration is given to any players playing abroad.
“Our national coaches and high performance teams support this approach as they feel that our continued improvement on the world stage is best achieved through the localised and aligned management of our playing groups.
“Our message is simple, if you want to put yourself in the shop window for international selection you are still best served playing at home.”
RA also announced three new appointments to its executive team.
Peter Conde is the new chief performance officer, Marissa Pace the chief marketing officer and James Durbin the chief commercial officer.
“Marissa, James and Peter all join Rugby Australia with exceptional qualifications,” Marinos said.
“They are industry leaders and I am excited to work with them as we deliver a huge year for the game in 2022 and prepare for a number of significant, game defining moments over the coming years.”
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