Self-preservation kicked in and rugby is all the poorer for it, says Gregor Paul
Maybe one day those who voted against changing the eligibility rules will look back and wince.
They might feel a pang of guilt that their short-sightedness held rugby back.
With one law change, the global landscape could have been transformed.
There would finally have been some conviction to
the mission statement of increasing the number of quality international teams.
The proposal to allow eligible players to represent tier-two nations 12 months after they have played for a tier-one country had no downside.
This was not a return to the farcical days where players could swap jerseys on a whim.
This was a mature realisation the modern world no longer exclusively produces straightforward nuclear families whose nationality is pure and obvious.
Many households are mixed - a blend of this and that.
In New Zealand, the Pacific Island influence is plentiful.
In Auckland and Wellington, in particular, are young men born in New Zealand to parents who were born in the Islands.
They are Kiwis yet they are also Samoans, Fijians and Tongans. They are qualified to wear two jerseys and would feel equally proud in either.
So there was no reason to deny the change on the grounds it would lessen test football. Nor were there financial grounds. Someone giving up the All Blacks for Samoa is hardly going to benefit financially.
Those who voted against the change were driven by fear. The change had potential to immediately elevate the quality of the Pacific Islands.
Take Samoa - they have been unable to sustain their growth since they took the World Cup by storm in 1991.
They always look a side who could be quite dangerous if they just had some more graft in their tight five and a bit of control in their midfield.
That's what the proposed change could have given them. The likes of John Schwalger, Brad Mika, Ross Filipo, Jerry Collins and Chris Masoe could have been available for the 2011 World Cup. So too Kevin Senio and Soseni Anesi.
Most are past their best, but they are still good players. If they all became available to Samoa at the next World Cup, the picture would be very different.
Samoa would look the likes of Scotland, Italy and even England in the eye. They would probably trouble Ireland and Wales, too.
Tonga could have picked up Saimone Taumeopeau, Sam Tuitupou, Sione Lauaki and Doug Howlett and also threatened a few of the weaker tier-one nations.
And that is why there was no change. The prospect of being beaten by Samoa, Tonga or Fiji was too much for some, principally the Celtic nations. It's great to talk about supporting the growth of the game and helping the lesser nations build. But only up to a point.
Self-preservation kicked in and rugby is all the poorer for it.
