Rugby: United Nations of England

Kiwi Daniel Bowden, first five at London Irish, may play for England. Photo / Getty Images

Unable to match the giant financial offers of their French counterparts, English clubs are luring foreign talent with an alternative carrot - the prospect of a place in the national team.

The England jersey is no longer the precious preserve of those who have grown up ready to die for Queen and country.

With nine foreigners in England's extended World Cup squad, any old colonial can head to Blighty these days, hang around for three years and expect to be singing God Save the Queen as if they really mean it.

For all the talk of concern at executive level about the number of second-rate foreigners flooding the English Premiership, the truth seems to be that the national union are far from worried. The influx of offshore players whose eligibility has not been captured is not keeping young Englishmen out of the national team. It is simply creating more 'Englishmen'.

Thomas Waldrom, Riki Flutey, Shontayne Hape and Dylan Hartley are in contention to play for England at the World Cup. Waldrom was chasing his All Black dream last year - now he's on the verge of playing for England at a World Cup, thanks to the unexpected discovery of an English grandparent.

The fact that none of this quartet feels the vaguest sense of patriotic allegiance to England is not a problem for national coach Martin Johnson. He's given the impression the national team is more a Premiership Select.

Irrefutable proof of the way things are in England came this week with the revelation that former Crusaders midfielder Daniel Bowden has already been approached by Johnson. Bowden, still only 23, joined London Irish in 2010 on a two-year deal. He enjoyed a good season with the club playing most of the campaign at No 10 and has been told he's on the national team's radar.

Off contract at the end of next May, he'd have to commit to at least one more year to make himself eligible for England on the three-year residency rule.

"I still have one season remaining on my contract and I have got to make a big decision, one more year after that I become eligible," Bowden told NZ Rugby World.

"I've already been given some pretty good feedback from the England set-up. With Shontayne Hape and Ricky Flutey both having very good careers in the Northern Hemisphere and representing England, it shows me that that's an option.

"But returning home is in the back of my mind and I would like to play at the next level, which is international rugby. I just have to make a decision and then back myself in whichever way I go."

International rugby was never supposed to come to this. When Rupert Murdoch rode to the rescue in 1995, his broadcast offer was accepted with the objective of saving the integrity and credibility of the international game. The rival World Rugby Corporation was proposing a circus where highly-paid professionals with no affinity to the cause would travel the world playing on the biggest stage.

Here we are 16 years on and the England rugby team has, in essence, morphed into this tragic vision. High work-rate players who fail to crack their own national side can now sign with English clubs and be confident they can 'boost' their package in time with a test career.

Who can blame them? They can probably double their income in test match fees while experiencing the game at the highest level. The fact they are not English and spent most of their formative years dreaming of one day playing against and beating England apparently doesn't matter.

England are happy to be a United Nations. They care not that almost one third of their World Cup squad will be from New Zealand and South Africa.

In all likelihood, none of this will stop the English media later this year bleating about New Zealand's endless poaching from the Pacific Islands.

In comparison, of the probable All Black squad, Jerome Kaino, Sitiveni Sivivatu and Mils Muliaina will be the only three not born in New Zealand. Kaino and Muliaina came to New Zealand when they were four, while Sivivatu was 17.

The rugby world has never particularly liked England. While an English victory at the World Cup would be tough to celebrate, it would be much easier to accept if it was achieved with Englishmen in the team.