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The hot topic of foreign-born players returns. The upcoming 2018 Six Nations Championship will see the finest European teams battling it out in the annual competition.
The topic in question is hugely popular as people both criticize and defend the use of players from abroad. The extent, though, in which some countries have been utilizing the system to nationalize talent over three years saw World Rugby take action in 2017, setting new regulations which, from 2020, require players to have five years of consecutive residency or 10 years of cumulative residency.
At Rugby World Cup 2015 19 of the 20 countries had foreign-born players. Some of the Six Nations’ unions were high on the list. Foreign-born player numbers have fluctuated per country since then. Changes to roster personal for the upcoming edition are reflected below.
All told, the 2018 Six Nations will have a grand total of 21 nations represented. The Americas contributes to this list through Argentina, Canada, and the USA. No continent is absent.
The Celtic nations each have players born in England. In total 17 English players will play for other nations. The next highest producers, by birth, are New Zealand with 13 players selected.
For a complete list of foreign-born players in the 2016 Six Nations click here.
For a complete list of foreign-born players in the 2017 Six Nations click here.
SCOTLAND (23)
The country with the most foreign-born players in the 2018 Six Nations is Scotland. Gregor Townsend’s roster of 40 players initially featured 19 from abroad. This represented an increase from 14 in 2016 and 18 in 2017. Of note is that seven players qualify via a Grandparent. With only two fully professional franchises and a limited pool of exiles to draw from, Scottish rugby continues to cast its net as widely as possible in the search for eligible talent. In mid-February 2018 Townsend called-up additional players born abroad – W.P. Nel, Josh Strauss, Tim Swinson, and Tim Visser.
| PLAYER | POS | PLACE OF BIRTH | ELIGIBILITY |
| Simon Berghan | TH | New Zealand | Grandparent |
| WP. Nel | TH | South Africa | Residency (2015) |
| Tim Swinson | LO | England | Parent |
| Ben Toolis | LO | Australia | Parent |
| John Barclay | FL | Hong Kong | Parent |
| Luke Hamilton | FL | Wales | Parent |
| Rob Harley | FL | England | Parent |
| Hamish Watson | FL | England | Grandparent |
| Ryan Wilson | FL | England | Grandparent |
| David Denton | N8 | Zimbabwe | Parent |
| Cornell du Preez | N8 | South Africa | Residency (2016) |
| Josh Strauss | N8 | South Africa | Residency (2015) |
| Nathan Fowles | SH | England | Grandparent |
| Ali Price | SH | England | Parent |
| Henry Pyrgos | SH | England | Parent |
| Nick Grigg | CE | New Zealand | Grandparent |
| Chris Harris | CE | England | Grandparent |
| Duncan Taylor | CE | England | Parent |
| Sean Maitland | WI | New Zealand | Grandparent |
| Byron McGuigan | WI | Namibia | Parent |
| Tommy Seymour | WI | USA | Parent |
| Tim Visser | WI | Netherlands | Residency (2013) |
| Ruaridh Jackson | FB | England | Parent |
ENGLAND (11)
Former Head Coach Stuart Lancaster had three foreign born players on his World Cup roster. Eddie Jones immediately made personal changes in 2016 and this has continued until 2018. The RFU firmly backs the change to five years residency despite instances such as Nathan Hughes. Ben Te’o and Denny Solomona played rugby league for Samoa in 2008 and 2016 respectively. The trio of Sam Underhill, Nathan Earle and Marcus Smith were raised in England.
Gary Graham is an interesting case. His father is former Scotland prop George Graham who was living in Carlisle, England, at the time of Gary’s birth and drove over the border to ensure his son was born in Scotland. Gary himself represented Scotland at u20 level and under the old regulations would not have qualified for England after moving to Scotland to play for Gala. Should he be capped he will be the first player to do so under the new 10-year cumulative residency regulation.
| PLAYER | POS | PLACE OF BIRTH | ELIGIBILITY |
| Alec Hepburn | LH | Australia | Parent |
| Mako Vunipola | LH | New Zealand | Residency (2008) |
| Dylan Hartley | HO | New Zealand | Parent |
| Don Armand | FL | Zimbabwe | Grandparent |
| Gary Graham | FL | Scotland | Residency (2003) |
| Sam Underhill | FL | USA | Parent |
| Nathan Hughes | No 8 | Fiji | Residency (2016) |
| Marcus Smith | FH | Philippines | Parent |
| Ben Te’o | CE | New Zealand | Parent |
| Nathan Earle | WI | Hong Kong | Parent |
| Denny Solomona | WI | New Zealand | Residency (2017) |
IRELAND (9)
Ireland’s policy of restricting places in their provincial sides for Irish-eligible players has had the knock-on effect of an increase in the number of ‘project players’, meaning imports who qualify, or will qualify, on residency. World Rugby’s change from three to five years residency may see that stance altered.
CJ Stander and Bundee Aki were both officially targeted by Ireland as uncapped in their native countries who could play for Ireland. The overall number of foreign-born players has increased from six in the 2017 Six Nations to nine for the 2018 tournament.
| PLAYER | POS | PLACE OF BIRTH | ELIGIBILITY |
| Rob Herring | HO | South Africa | Grandparent |
| Ultan Dillane | LO | France | Parent |
| Quinn Roux | LO | South Africa | Residency (2015) |
| Jordi Murphy | FL | Spain | Parent |
| CJ Stander | N8 | South Africa | Residency (2015) |
| Kieran Marmion | SH | England | Parent |
| Luke McGrath | SH | Canada | Parent |
| Joey Carbery | FH | New Zealand | Parent |
| Bundee Aki | CE | New Zealand | Residency (2017) |
WALES (9)
The Welsh roster for the 2016 Six Nations tournament included 13 foreign-born players, in 2017 it was 10. For this year the number has fallen one more to nine. Hallam Amos, Taulupe Faletau, George North and Aaron Shingler all grew up in Wales, having moved there as children.
Ross Moriarty played for England u20’s before being called up to follow in his father’s footsteps to play for Wales. Gareth Anscombe played for New Zealand u20’s and is the son of former Canada coach Mark Anscombe. His mother is from Cardiff, Wales. Hadleigh Parkes debuted on the same day that he completed three-years eligibility.
| PLAYER | POS | PLACE OF BIRTH | ELIGIBILITY |
| Tomas Francis | TH | England | Grandparent |
| Aaron Shingler | FL | England | Residency (1992) |
| Ross Moriarty | FL | England | Parent |
| Taulupe Faletau | N8 | Tonga | Residency (2001) |
| Gareth Anscombe | FH | New Zealand | Parent |
| Hadleigh Parkes | CE | New Zealand | Residency (2017) |
| Hallam Amos | WI | England | Residency (2001) |
| Alex Cuthbert | WI | England | Parent |
| George North | WI | England | Parent |
ITALY (8)
Jacques Brunel coached Italy in the 2016 Six Nations. He had 10 players born abroad. In both 2017 and 2018 his replacement, Conor O’Shea selected 8. For the 2018 competition O’Shea has been forced to play without Ornel Gega. Selection, meanwhile, sees Joshua Furno and Luke McLean overlooked. The Argentine-Italian Sergio Parisse continues to captain the team. Often criticized as failing to produce home-grown talent, Italy is fielding fewer players from abroad than many rivals.
| PLAYER | POS | PLACE OF BIRTH | ELIGIBILITY |
| George Biagi | LO | Scotland | Parent |
| Dean Budd | LO | New Zealand | Residency (2015) |
| Sebastian Negri | FL | Zimbabwe | Parent |
| Jake Polledri | FL | England | Grandparent |
| Braam Steyn | FL | South Africa | Residency (2015) |
| Sergio Parisse | N8 | Argentina | Parent |
| Ian McKinley | FH | Ireland | Residency (2017) |
| Jayden Hayward | FB | New Zealand | Residency (2017) |
FRANCE (3)
Philippe Saint-André took 10 foreign-born players to RWC 2015. Guy Novès had four a year ago while new coach Jacques Brunel named three in his squad. Newcomer Cedate Gomes Sa left his native Guinea-Bissau aged 10 to live in Portugal and then aged 12 he moved to France. Dany Priso arrived in France at age 11 from Cameroon.
Sébastien Vaha’amahina was born in New Caledonia, a French territory in the South Pacific that could well become independent in the relatively near future. None of Saint-André’s 10 foreign-born players have been selected by Brunel. Fijian Virimi Vakatawa is into his third Six Nations campaign.
| PLAYER | POS | PLACE OF BIRTH | ELIGIBILITY |
| Dany Priso | LH | Cameroon | Residency (2008) |
| Cedate Gomes Sa | TH | Guinea-Bissau | Residency (2008) |
| Virimi Vakatawa | WI | Fiji | Residency (2013) |
