Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
Following the popularity of Americas Rugby News’ Foreign-Born Players at Rugby World Cup 2015, the hot topic of debate regarding player eligibility is to be looked at again. In this piece Americas Rugby News takes an in-depth look into the foreign-born players selected for each of the six rosters in the Americas Rugby Championship. Included will be where they were born and how they came to be eligible.
The list of foreign-born players in the 2018 Americas Rugby Championship has also been put together in an effort to achieve consistency. It follows the release of the 2018 Six Nations list from Americas Rugby News from 2016-2018 and also the Rugby Championship.
Leading the way in the Americas in terms of players born in other nations is the USA with 14. Canada is next with six while Brazil have five players born abroad. Chile have just one player born outside the country and both the Argentina XV and Uruguay are comprised entirely of players born in their countries.
A total of 11 nations outside of the Americas are represented in the ARC. Leading the way with five players is South Africa, with four each coming from fellow top tier nations New Zealand and England. Australia, Ireland, and France contribute two each, with single representation coming from Scotland, Fiji, Germany, and Bosnia & Herzegovina. Of note is that two Argentine-born players will represent other nations in the competition with one USA native turnout out for a South American side.
At Rugby World Cup 2015 Argentina was unique in having all players in their squad as being natives to their country. The other competitors all had at least one born abroad. Uruguay’s one foreign-born player in the tournament was from Argentina.
For a list of Foreign-Born Players in the 2018 Six Nations click here.
For a list of Foreign-Born Players in the 2017 Rugby Championship click here.
USA (14)
The country with the most foreign-born players in the 2018 ARC by a distance is the USA, which comes as no surprise given the country’s huge population and ethnic diversity. Of those born elsewhere six qualify via parentage while eight have now made the country their home.
James Hilterbrand and Tony Lamborn have American fathers while Dylan Audsley, and Peni Tagive qualify via their mother. Will Magie was born in England to American parents who moved abroad for work. Will Hooley’s grandmother is from Hollywood, of all places.
Ben Cima arrived in the USA as a 7-year-old, his father Marcelo a rugby player himself and an Argentine diplomat. South African-born pair Hanco Germishuys and Ruben de Haas followed their fathers to America as school boys, Germishuys landing in 2004 and de Haas in 2009.
The Eagles can thank Brigham Young University for three players. Shaun Davies, Paul Lasike, and Josh Whippy each came to the USA to attend the religious institution. Davies was selected immediately upon qualifying while Lasike and Whippy have only just been added to the Eagles squad.
Qualifying in the past few months are Irish hooker Dylan Fawsitt and New Zealand-born scrumhalf Devereaux Ferris. Both were standout players during the 2016 PRO Rugby season who are now firmly established in their respective communities, Fawsitt living in New York and Ferris in the Bay Area.
| PLAYER | POS | PLACE OF BIRTH | ELIGIBILITY |
| Dylan Fawsitt | HO | Ireland | Residency (2017) |
| James Hilterbrand | HO | Australia | Parent |
| Hanco Germishuys | FL | South Africa | Residency (2007) |
| Tony Lamborn | FL | New Zealand | Parent |
| Shaun Davies | SH | South Africa | Residency (2012) |
| Ruben de Haas | SH | South Africa | Residency (2012) |
| Devereaux Ferris | SH | New Zealand | Residency (2018) |
| Ben Cima | FH | Argentina | Residency (2006) |
| Will Hooley | FH | England | Grandparent |
| Will Magie | FH | England | Parent |
| Dylan Audsley | CE | England | Parent |
| Paul Lasike | CE | New Zealand | Residency (2012) |
| Peni Tagive | WI | Australia | Parent |
| Josh Whippy | WI | Fiji | Residency (2014) |
Canada (6)
At Rugby World Cup 2015 Canada had six foreign-born players. Four of these qualified via residency. The same is true today, on both accounts, in the ARC. Changes see Martial Lagain and Admir Cejvanovic added on residency while Dustin Dobravsky and Shane O’Leary are additional newcomers since England 2015.
Lagain is one of two hookers from France in the squad, the other Benoît Pifféro who was born in Montreal. Along with previously-established Gordon McRorie he is one of two who were called up immediately upon fulfilling residency qualifications.
DTH van der Merwe moved to Saskatchewan with his family as a teenager. Cejvanovic arrived in the country in his childhood as a refugee with his mother. Dobravsky, an age-grade international for Germany, qualifies via his Canadian mother. Irish-born Shane O’Leary also qualifies via his mother, who was born in Edmundston, New Brunswick.
| PLAYER | POS | PLACE OF BIRTH | ELIGIBILITY |
| Martial Lagain | HO | France | Residency (2017) |
| Dustin Dobravsky | FL | Germany | Parent |
| Admir Cejvanovic | N8 | Bosnia & Herzegovina | Residency (1997) |
| Gordon McRorie | SH | Scotland | Residency (2014) |
| Shane O’Leary | FH | Ireland | Parent |
| DTH van der Merwe | WI | South Africa | Residency (2006) |
Brazil (5)
Brazil enters the competition with five foreign-born players. Of them four qualified in recent years based on three years of residency in the country. Upon moving to Brazil all were heavily involved in rugby in their new homes.
De Wet van Niekerk and Josh Reeves have played in previous editions of the ARC. Will Broderick made his debut against Belgium in 2017 while Angelo Marcucci is a newcomer. He is from Argentina but has been living in Rio Grande do Sul since 2014. His mother is Chilean, making him a player eligible for three countries playing in the competition.
The team also has two players who were born in Brazil but raised abroad. Yan Rosetti grew up in Argentina while the Sancery twins, Daniel and Felipe, grew up in France. Daniel will miss the opening rounds of the competition with injury.
| PLAYER | POS | PLACE OF BIRTH | ELIGIBILITY |
| Angelo Marcucci | FL | Argentina | Residency (2016) |
| Laurent Bourda-Couhet | SH | France | Parent |
| Will Broderick | SH | England | Residency (2017) |
| Josh Reeves | FH | New Zealand | Residency (2016) |
| De Wet van Niekerk | WI | South Africa | Residency (2016) |
Chile (1)
Los Cóndores have just one player born outside Chile. Lock or No8 Nikola Bursic was born in his mother’s home town of Torrance, California, but with a Chilean father he moved to Santiago at the age of five. He has since turned out for the San Diego Breakers of PRO Rugby and will play for the New Orleans Gold in the upcoming Major League Rugby season.
| PLAYER | POS | PLACE OF BIRTH | ELIGIBILITY |
| Nikola Bursic | LO | USA | Parent |
Argentina XV (0)
All players in the Argentina XV were born in Argentina.
Uruguay (0)
All players on Uruguay’s roster were born in Uruguay.
