gutterfax wrote:
Not moaning...just pointing out it's farcical and it doesn't happen to this extent in any other sport (ie the tonga v Samoa game with 86% of the participants not born in tonga or samoa) and Hayne still being able to play for 2 teams 7 weeks out is farcical!
As for England's cricket team being a melting pot of nationalities.....6 south Africans, 4 of whom qualify on residence and parenting rules, 2 who moved to the UK aged 12 and 14 respectively and an Irish bloke who qualifies because his grandparents were born in an English ruled Ireland. There is a massive difference between that bending of the rules and the blatant country hopping that is permitted in League.....29 of 34 players representing 2 island nations were actually born in Australia.
As it is, Scotland's gain is England's loss with regard to Brough....and I would rather see Hayne doing his thang in a Fijian shirt....and I too am looking forward to a competitive RLWC.
For somebody in New Zealand you seem to completely lack any knowledge of the cultural and historical links between NZ, OZ, and the Island nations. You aren’t stupid so I can only presume you have had a bang on the head or you are trolling.
There has been a massive amount of people move from the Pac Isles to Australia and NZ and there are plenty who are proud of their history and heritage and proud to represent their nation and heritage even whilst living in, or even being born in a different country (though in some examples like the Cook Islands, NZ isn’t even really thought of as a different country). It should be obvious to anyone that there will be a large crossover between these nations. As there is with Ireland in soccer, whose latest squad had 8 british born players, and all but 2 played in England.
This isn’t bad, its not wrong, its part of the world and if anything should be something celebrated, You go tell Wes Naiqama he isn’t Fijian, Sam Tagataese he isnt Samoan, and Sika Manu he isnt Tongan, that they are all big frauds pulling on a shirt of convenience and ill find you a plastic surgeon capable of sorting out how they leave your face.
