MELBOURNE (AUSTRALIA) – Incoming Wallabies coach Dave Rennie is cautious about scrapping Australia’s ‘Giteau Law’, which limits selection of overseas players to those with 60 test caps or more, fearing it may lead to an exodus of talent.
Experts have been calling on Australia to revoke the restriction after South Africa ditched a similar policy and won the World Cup in Japan with a squad laden with foreign-based players.
However, Rennie said the priority is on rewarding home-based players.
“My feeling is that the ideal scenarios are that we’re picking from within,” he told reporters by video call on Monday.
“If we do like South Africa did at the World Cup and you allow all your players to go overseas and you pick from anybody in the world, clearly you end up with a pretty good side in a World Cup year.
“But it’s going to encourage a lot of players to leave and chase the big money, knowing that they can still play for their country, which I think will have a detrimental effect on the quality of our Super Rugby and the development of players within that.”
However, Australia could look at extending eligibility to players based in New Zealand or Japan, he added, so long as they were playing in teams that faced Australian sides in whatever version of Super Rugby emerges post-COVID-19.
Super Rugby was abandoned last month after being suspended in March and there is uncertainty whether it will resume next year due to the pandemic.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field