The eligibility rule remains the same for the All Blacks

Guillaume Marion, Media365, published on Wednesday, December 6, 2023 at 5:15 pm.

While some had hoped for a change in the eligibility rule regarding New Zealand selection, the federation confirmed that international players playing overseas would not be able to select.

A tough blow for some All Blacks players. In fact, following their overall success at the 2023 World Cup (defeat in the final to South Africa), some elements of Ian Foster's group have since left the country to play in France and Japan in particular. Unfortunately for them, The New Zealand Rugby Union (NZR) has remained strict on the eligibility rule. Therefore, international players who do not play in New Zealand will not be able to be selected by Foster's successor, Scott Robertson. “We are very clear about our rules and believe they have played a vital role in the All Blacks' success for so long. But we also recognize that the world changes and from time to time these discussions need to take place. At the moment we are really happy with the situation », Mark Robinson, president of NZR, recently reacted to this topic.

Robertson and Kane were hoping to relax

While Robertson made it clear that this rule might need to be reconsidered a few months ago, Sam Cain also said he supports change in the future. Many South Africans have shown that playing in the Japanese Championship and returning to international level at the top are not mutually exclusive. So maybe we can raise this issue (with the New Zealand Federation) “, explained among other things the captain of the All Blacks team during the last World Cup, during his press conference in Suntory Sangoliath (Japan). If the latter, like Ardi Savea (who signed for a few months with the Kobe Steelers), should not be too affected With this concern, Others who have joined Europe or the Japanese Championship over the course of several seasons (most notably Leicester Vainga'anuku who now plays for Toulon) will be affected by this lack of flexibility.which is what their union clearly assumes.