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The final tournament of the 2019 Rugby World Cup (RWC) in Japan is well underway, with semi-finalists—the All Blacks of New Zealand, Red Roses of England, Springboks of South Africa and Wales—left to play in the final matches. While the World Cup has brought excitement all over the globe for rugby fans, it has also re-sparked debates on one of the most unique aspects of national rugby teams: foreign-born players.
National rugby squads often have players from varying nationalities. As long as they meet eligibility requirements, either a residency or a parent or grandparent from the country, players born abroad are permitted to represent any other nation. However, this regulation has sparked controversy as many have pointed out the possibility for players to represent a foreign country solely for money. In simple words, becoming mercenaries.
The primary reason this controversy has regained significant attention is due to the Japanese team, Brave Blossoms. Last week, they became the first Asian team to progress to the final tournament in rugby history. Despite the outstanding performance, people have noted how the players scoring tries and powering through scrums are not pure Japanese. In fact, they come from countries such as South Africa, Samoa, New Zealand, Tonga and Australia.
Recently, America’s Rugby News published an article ranking teams based on the number of foreign-born players in each team. Ranking number one was Tonga with 19, followed by Samoa with 18 and Japan with 16.
An interesting point to note is that while all of Tonga and Samoa’s foreign-born players qualified with their relatives’ nationality, all but one of Japan’s foreign-born players qualified with earned residency. There are even some players who only recently got their residency in the past three years, which seems all too convenient for those wishing to participate in the World Cup.
However, on the brighter side, there are still numerous foreign players who moved to Japan during their secondary or higher-education years, showing greater reason to represent the nation. One notable player is Koo Ji-Won, a South Korean who has lived in Japan since middle school. He has stated that he hopes to inspire more Koreans to like Japan and more Japanese to like Korea, especially under the current tension between the two countries.
The unique policy of national rugby teams makes the sport one-of-a-kind. No matter their nationality, all players have shown inspiring skills and sportsmanship through this year’s World Cup. Make sure to check out the upcoming matches between the remaining semi-finalists happening on October 26, 27, and November 2.
For more information, please visit SportsNavi and America’s Rugby News.
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