Rugby Australia reassessing ‘Giteau Law’ - report
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Rugby Australia are set to review their eligibility laws ahead of the July series against Ireland. Dave Rennie first test in charge will be against Andy Farrell's men and the former Glasgow coach could select the likes of Sean McMahon and Samu Kerevi.
According to a report by Chris Doran at Fox Sports, the Rugby Australia board will soon be presented with different arguments on the worth of the current eligibility laws. The current eligibility law means that Rennie can only select players playing in Super Rugby or have played 60 or more Tests and given seven years of service playing in Australia can be eligible to play for the Wallabies.
The overseas component to eligibility came before the 2015 Rugby World in England with former Wallaby coach Michael Cheika keen on selecting French-based duo Matt Giteau and Drew Mitchell. Both men had played more than 60 caps and given more than seven-years of service in Australian rugby and the eligibility changes became dubbed as the ‘Giteau Law’.
A change in the eligibility would be a major boost for Dave Rennie's side with the likes of Samu Kerevi, Rory Arnold, Seam McMahon and Tolu Latu all abroad and ineligible at the moment.
Some within RA are arguing that that service period should be reduced to five years, while the number of Test caps required also halved.
