Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
South American Rugby (Sudamérica Rugby) President Sebastián Piñeyrua has slammed World Rugby’s decision to delay changing the residency law. The sport’s global governing body announced the change on Monday, August 10, though it noted that the law change was passed in July.
The change is a one-year extension of the previously-approved binding amendment to international eligibility criteria. Three years ago a vote passed a decision to change Regulation 8 from a 36-month residency qualification period to 60 months. This was due to come into effect on January 1, 2021. The Beaumont regime has now delayed it by one year until January 1, 2022.
World Rugby says that the decision was made to extend the transition period due to the “exceptional disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic” which resulted in the cancellation of a significant number of capped international fixtures.
The extension to Regulation 8 came with controversy. Piñeyrua was less than satisfied with the governance of the Beaumont regime. He tweeted (in Spanish) that:
“Clearly there were many who were upset with tightening and making the nationalization rule more difficult. Power without direction, or in the least without opposition that can balance it. It is difficult this way.”
The change was implemented not by World Rugby Council vote but by World Rugby’s Executive Committee, in consultation “with unions and International Rugby Players.”
Piñeyrua is Uruguayan. Uruguay recently announced Andrés Vilaseca as the new captain of Los Teros. In the most recent of his 59 caps Vilaseca started at inside center against Wales. He played opposite Hadleigh Parkes, a New Zealander who made his debut for Wales at the age of 30. He arrived in the UK aged 27 and debuted for Wales on the same day that he completed three years eligibility. He no longer lives in Wales.
Like all of his RWC 2019 teammates, Vilaseca is a homegrown player. The rule change will not see Uruguay capturing players via Regulation 8. It should be noted that many Tier 1 nations who are set to benefit will in fact have opportunities to cap players before the intended cut-off date of December 31, 2020.
