World Rugby, formerly the International Rugby Board, is the international body that manages rugby union and rugby sevens. In particular, it defines the rules of the game and organizes the main tournaments. It is therefore within the World Rugby manual that the rules concerning sports nationality in Rugby must be sought.
Continuation of our study on sports nationality with this second episode concerning rugby.
2nd Episode: Rugby
According to the Directives and explanations relating to the application of Regulation 8 World Rugby, the philosophy of this regulation "aims to ensure that the selected players (…) have an authentic, close, credible and established link of nationality with the country of the Federation for which they were selected".According to the IRB, such a link is essential for "safeguard the unique characteristics and culture of elite international sports competitions between Federations. The integrity of International Matches between Federations depends directly on strict compliance with these qualification criteria."provided for by Regulation 8.
The principle
Article 8.1 of Regulation 8 - Player eligibility: qualification to play for the national team - States that a player can only play for the national team (to XV or to VII) of the Federation of the country in which:
- he was born where
- one of his parents or grandparents was born, or
- he resided thirty-six months consecutively immediately before the match date.
Also, a player who played for a first national team will no longer be eligible to play with a second Federation (article 8.2).
A player is considered to have been selected for a first national team (Article 8.3) if he has been called up to play an international match and "if he is present at the match played by said team, either as a substitute, temporary substitute or player of that team, and is, at the time of said match, of the age of majority".
In the event of a breach of its rules, the Federation is liable and risks a fine (article 8.5).
The exceptions
The arrival of rugby sevens at the Olympic Games creates a new exception to this principle.
According to the article 8.7 "a player who is a national of the country or of the Federation for which he is captured under Regulation 8.2 and who holds the nationality of another country or of another Federation may apply to participate in an Olympic Event under the colors of his new country or of his new Federation".
For this, the player must respect and justify a minimum period of 3 years "between the date on which he represented his former Federation for the first time and the date on which he will play for the first time for the second Federation".
There is a second exception to the players, "before January 1, 2000, after having played for a first Federation, have not played before a period of 36 consecutive months has elapsed for another Federation and have played for the second Federation before January 1, 2000".
