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A week of turmoil in the 2019 Rugby World Cup qualifying process is set to face yet another challenge. Just two days after World Rugby disqualified Tahiti for fielding two ineligible players against the Cook Islands it has emerged that Belgium fielded an ineligible player against Germany in the Rugby Europe Championship match that also doubled as a World Cup qualifier.
Germany coach Pablo Lemoine revealed the situation in an interview with Agustín Basso on El Show del Rugby in Montevideo. The interview in its entirety (in Spanish) can be seen here.
Victor Paquet, who plays for SA XV Charente in the French Pro D2, made his international debut as a replacement hooker against Germany on March 3. An age-grade international for France up to u19 level, before the match Paquet was quoted by French publication L’Union that he qualified for Belgium via his great-grandmother.
“In fact, the coach Guillaume Ajac, who lives in Angoulême, learned by talking with a local journalist that I came from the Ardennes. So he called me to ask if I did not have Belgian origins. Which turns out to be the case, through one of my great-grandmothers.”
There appears to have been a mix-up with the Belgian Rugby Union over eligibility regulations. World Rugby Regulation 8.1(b) allows for a player to represent the birth nation of a grandparent but does not include that of a great-grandparent.
Paquet was originally named to face Spain in the now-infamous match in Brussels on March 17 but was a late withdrawal from the squad, replaced by Alexis Cuffolo. Evidently the reason for this replacement was that Paquet was, in fact, ineligible.
It seems likely that Belgium will face some kind of sanction given the precedent set by World Rugby. Given that the match in question had no immediate effect on the Europe 1 it could simply be a fine or an overturning of the result against Germany.
If, however, World Rugby opted to disqualify Belgium completely from the qualification process it would have vast implications for the Europe 1 spot. Both Romania and Spain would receive 5-point wins in each of their matches against Belgium, meaning Spain would therefore achieve World Cup qualification.
World Rugby now have a busy week ahead with two significant outcomes to be resolved.
