WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) World Rugby has moved to substantially tighten the criteria under which a player from one country can qualify to play for another, extending the required period of elibility from three to five years.
In a move strongly driven by vice president Agustin Pichot of Argentina, the World Rugby Council meeting in Japan unanimously approved the changes saying they are necessary to protect the ”integrity and sanctity of international rugby.”
World Rugby said in a statement Wednesday the change to its Regulation 8, governing the eligibility period, would ensure that a player hoping to change allegiance from one nation to another would have ”a genuine, close, credible and established link with the nation of representation.