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The 2023 Rugby Championship will be the final major competition before Rugby World Cup 2023. It will involve four countries – Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. They are all elite; three of them are prior Rugby World Cup champions and the other has previously finished third.
2023 marks the 12 edition of the competition. The Tri Nations was expanded to include Argentina in 2012. Prior to that the Tri Nations was annual from 1996-2011.
This article documents players that represent a country other than that which they were born in. It identifies who they are and how they qualify according to World Rugby player eligibility laws. In addition, the article identifies whether or not the players are homegrown; that is, where players were developed prior to their senior careers.
Homegrown players are identified by the color blue in the produced category. Players shown in this color are products of the team they are representing in the 2023 Rugby Championship. That is to say, the team they represent is primarily responsible for the player’s development. Red indicates that the player is the product of the rugby systems of a different country.
Eligibility law changes enable eligible players to represent a second country via Union Transfer. Players can do so following a three-year stand-down period from their last binding representative appearance for their first country. South Africa have utilized the change to reacquire Jean Kleyn who was signed to play in and qualify for another country as an adult. He played at Rugby World Cup 2019 for Ireland.
The changes have seen many additional instances of players jumping unions. This continues to happen against the backdrop of Spain having been disqualified from Rugby World Cup 2023. Gavin van den Berg was found not eligible. The player escaped punishment and left Spain to play in Portugal. van den Berg had had his passport falsified in order to play for Alcobendas.
The Union Transfer regulation is a reverse of revisions in May of 2017. At that time eligibility regulations were tightened by extending the consecutive residency requirement from three to five years. A new clause also allowed for players to qualify via cumulative residency of 10 years. Those changes were scheduled to begin on January 1, 2021, but World Rugby subsequently delayed the change by one year.
This is an original work researched and written by Paul Tait of Americas Rugby News.
Ten players on New Zealand’s roster were born in different countries. This is the most of the four Rugby Championship rosters. The number is down from twelve in 2022 but is above New Zealand’s average of either six foreign-born players from 2016-2021. 2017 was the lowest with three.
Two of the players qualify via family ancestry and ten via residency. The family-qualified players are Ethan de Groot and Tyrel Lomax who both moved to New Zealand as children. de Groot did so as an infant while Lomax was schooled in both Australia and New Zealand. He lived in Australia between the ages of 13 and 21. Lomax is the son of former New Zealand Rugby League player, John Lomax.
The residency players can be classified into two categories. First, players who moved as children. Second, players who obtained All Black eligibility as adults. Leicester Fainga’anuku moved to New Zealand aged 2 and Ofa Tu’ungafasi did so aged 14. Finlay Christie moved aged 7. Samisomi Taukei’aho moved to New Zealand aged 16. Rookie Samipeni Finau moved to New Zealand from Tonga at the age of 13.
Like Taukei’aho, Shannon Frizzel earned a scholarship to play in New Zealand following a tour to the country while playing for Tonga at junior level. Frizzel qualified to play for New Zealand as an adult as did rookie Emoni Narawa. He moved from Fiji to finish his final year of schooling in New Zealand. Frizzel and Narawa are not homegrown.
| PLAYER | BORN | PRODUCED | POS | ELIGIBILITY | OTHER REP. |
| Ethan De Groot | Australia | New Zealand | LH | Parent | – |
| Ofa Tu’ungafasi | Tonga | New Zealand | LH | Residency (2009) | – |
| Samisoni Taukei’aho | Tonga | Tonga | HK | Residency (2017) | Tonga u19 |
| Neto Laulala | Samoa | New Zealand | TH | Residency (2007) | – |
| Tyrel Lomax | Australia | Australia | TH | Parent | Australia u20 |
| Samipeni Finau | Tonga | New Zealand | FL | Residency (2015) | – |
| Shannon Frizzel | Tonga | Tonga | FL | Residency (2017) | Tonga u20, Tonga u17 Soccer |
| Finlay Christie | Scotland | New Zealand | SH | Residency (2005) | – |
| Leicester Fainga’anuku | Tonga | New Zealand | WI | Residency (2004) | – |
| Emoni Narawa | Fiji | Fiji | WI | Residency (2022) | – |
HISTORICAL NUMBERS
2022 – 12
2021 – 7
2020 – 6
2019 – 5
2018 – 3
2017 – 7
2016 – 6
Australia’s roster contains fewer foreign-born players than the historic average. The number was 14 in 2016 and below 10 for the first time in 2022. All players qualify via residency and consist of two categories. First, players who arrived young to be developed by Australian rugby. Second, players who were not developed primarily by Australian rugby.
The former category covers four players who were all born in New Zealand. They are all homegrown Wallabies. Returnee Will Skelton moved to Australia aged 10. Quade Cooper was the oldest when he moved; he did so at the age of 13.
The players from the latter category were born in Fiji and Tonga. Suliasi Vunivalu moved to New Zealand aged 16 and to Australia aged 18. He and Marika Koroibete were capped in rugby league by their native Fiji. Both players qualified via residency as adults playing professional sport in Australia. The exception is Samu Kerevi who moved to Australia aged 4. He played for Fiji u20 but is a homegrown Wallaby.
Taniela Tupou was born and raised in Tonga before moving to New Zealand on a schools rugby scholarship. He moved to Australia to play professional rugby aged 18 and qualified for the Wallabies as an adult.
| PLAYER | BORN | PRODUCED | POS | ELIGIBILITY | OTHER REP. |
| Jordan Uelese | New Zealand | Australia | HK | Residency (2011) | – |
| Taniela Tupou | Tonga | Tonga | TH | Residency (2017) | Tonga u15 |
| Will Skelton | New Zealand | Australia | LO | Residency (1995) | – |
| Quade Cooper | New Zealand | Australia | FH | Residency (2004) | – |
| Lalakai Foketi | New Zealand | Australia | CE | Residency (2011) | – |
| Samu Kerevi | Fiji | Australia | CE | Residency (2004) | Fiji u20 |
| Marika Koroibete | Fiji | Fiji | WI | Residency (2015) | Fiji Rugby League |
| Suliasi Vunivalu | Fiji | Fiji | WI | Residency (2019) | Fiji Rugby League |
HISTORICAL NUMBERS
2022 – 8
2021 – 11
2020 – 13
2019 – 12
2018 – 13
2017 – 12
2016 – 14
Argentina’s roster contains 48 players. 47 of them were born in Argentina while Sebastián Cancelliere was born in the USA to Argentine parents. His mother was pregnant with him upon arrival in California. The family returned to Argentina within a year. The homegrown Cancelliere learned his rugby at Hindú in Don Torcuato. He is a graduate of Argentina’s High Performance system.
Lucas Paulos was born in Buenos Aires but first played rugby in Spain for Club de Rugby Majadahonda. He attended Argentina’s win over France in Paris at RWC 2007. He moved to the Mont de Marsan academy in France aged 16 and returned to Argentina aged 18. He subsequently played for Argentina u20 and Super Rugby. World Rugby’s eligibility changes enable World Cup 2019 Wallaby Jack Dempsey to play for Scotland but do not enable Spain to ever select Lucas Paulos. Argentina voted no to the allegiance eligibility change.
| PLAYER | BORN | PRODUCED | POS | ELIGIBILITY | OTHER REP. |
| Sebastián Cancelliere | USA | Argentina | WI | Parent | – |
HISTORICAL NUMBERS
2022 – 0
2021 – 1
2020 – 1
2019 – 1
2018 – 1
2017 – 0
2016 – 0
All of South Africa’s players were born and raised in South Africa. They are all homegrown including Jean Kleyn. He was signed to play in Ireland from Super Rugby in South Africa. This occurred with the intention of Kleyn qualifying for Ireland via three years residency. He debuted in 2019 and played at the World Cup. Following the Union Transfer Kleyn can now play at a second World Cup and can play for South Africa against Ireland.
HISTORICAL NUMBERS
2022 – 0
2021 – 0
2020 – n/a (did not Compete)
2019 – 1
2018 – 1
2017 – 2
2016 – 1
