Rugby: England squirm as euro beckons

Two points are worth making now the British pound has collapsed and English players scurry to France in search of better pay.

The first is that the English rugby fraternity will be less dismissive of New Zealand's plight to keep players.

Last year, as usual, All Black coach Graham Henry suggested the English national side might improve if clubs stopped filling teams with so many New Zealanders.

As usual, no one English took him seriously which is pretty much how it has been for 10 years. Poor old New Zealand, they say, but hey, it's a global game, global markets and only the strongest survive.

How about now? England are under seige from French clubs and current internationals James Haskell, Tom Palmer and Riki Flutey have signed contracts to move across the English Channel.

Players such as Jonny Wilkinson and Shane Geraghty are weighing offers from French clubs and the Rugby Football Union is in a major panic about how many will leave and the effect on the super expensive Elite Player Squad deal that was hammered out after the World Cup in 2007.

Suddenly New Zealand is an ally and that sage Graham Henry had a point all along.

The other consequence of these French defections is the mockery it makes of the existing eligibility rules.

New Zealand-born and raised Flutey will play for Brive and most likely be selected for England. It's not right that a proud Maori, who grew up dreaming of being an All Black and played for New Zealand age-grade sides, should have won an England cap.

It will be ludicrous if he continues to play for England while living in France. What connection will he have to England? All he did was pass through. He took a contract to play for London Irish in 2004 when it became apparent his future here would involve a lot of bench warming and guessing at which jersey he might be thrown.

He went to England not for any family and historic links. He left because he thought might get a game and be well paid for it.

After showing a bit of form for Irish then Wasps, he was selected for England having qualified because he had lived there for three years. But is he English? Does he feel passionately about the red rose?

Soon he will be a Kiwi living in France - with no direct connection to England whatsoever.

This is not to pick on Flutey - a lovely bloke - but to point out the weakness of the current legislation. And nor should blame be heaped on England alone.

Remember South African-born Greg Rawlinson? He won four caps in 2006 and 2007 after living here for three years. Now he's playing for Worcester. He plans to retire in Australia.

Growing up on the sun-kissed beaches of Durban he dreamt of being a Springbok and had an opportunity to play for them in 2006. But he turned it down - not because he was desperate to be an All Black - but if had played for South Africa, it would have become harder for him to emigrate permanently to New Zealand or Australia.

Rawlinson didn't bleed the same blood as the likes of Colin Meads, Sean Fitzpatrick and Buck Shelford and yet he wore the same jersey.