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Just hours after revealing that Spain had possibly fielded an ineligible player during the Rugby Europe World Cup qualification series it has emerged that a second player requires clarification from World Rugby. The eligibility of Mathieu Bélie for Spain was questioned yesterday as it was confirmed that he had played two games for France u20 against Wales u20 in 2008, both matches considered binding under World Rugby Regulation 8.
Bastien Fuster is the new player in question. The Bayonne outside back also represented France at u20 level and appeared against Wales in a 2012 Under-20 Six Nations match. As was the case with Bélie in 2008, both France and Wales had designated their u20 teams as ‘Next Senior’ representative side in 2012 meaning any match between the two during that year would ‘capture’ the eligibility of all players involved for their respective nations.
The case of Fuster differs from Bélie in a detail that is significant. Fuster, who otherwise qualifies for Spain through ancestry, made his test debut as a replacement against Russia on February 10 of this year, and again appeared as a replacement against Romania on February 18.
Under the previous regulations Fuster would not have been allowed to play for Spain, but a change in World Rugby’s eligibility laws was made in May 2017 declaring that national unions could no longer nominate u20 teams as their ‘Next Senior’ representative side. If the revised regulations are retroactively applied then Fuster would be clear to play for Spain as he made his debut after the changes, but World Rugby have yet to clarify whether that is indeed the case.
As in the Bélie case it could be that the Spanish Rugby Federation have already cleared Fuster with World Rugby but such a request would set a significant precedent, one that has not been publicly confirmed by World Rugby to date.
Rugby Europe are due to meet on Thursday to discuss the findings of an investigation into the controversial match between Belgium and Spain. It now seems likely their meeting will also include a discussion on multiple eligibility concerns surrounding three teams in the Rugby Europe Championship.
Another recent Spain international, prop Jean-Baptiste Custoja, also represented France at u20 level, playing matches against Italy and Ireland in the 2012 u20 Six Nations and 2012 IRB Junior World Championship respectively. As neither or those teams were designated ‘Next Senior’ representative sides, Custoja’s eligibility was not captured and he is free to play for Spain.
