Best Player Poachers In The 6N

[Margin__Walker]

Who is your country's most shameful poach?

Michael Bent for Ireland, no doubt about it. Think he was capped the week he landed in Dublin. And I think that was his 1 and only cap

Brad Shields as a straight off the plane job (he may even have still been playing SR and just met the team in SA - I forget)

Lesley Vainikolo for a capped straight from league residency poach

Eddie interepreted 'playing in England' as signed for an English club, don't think he even set foot in or around Coventry before playing for England.

Yep. Ended up being military medium and not worth the crush Eddie had on him.

Albeit there have been far worse in the shit poach hall of shame.

[PornDog]

Who is your country's most shameful poach?

Michael Bent for Ireland, no doubt about it. Think he was capped the week he landed in Dublin. And I think that was his 1 and only cap

And that wasn't even Declan Kidney's most absurd selection. Later on that same year he flew Paddy Wallace half way around the World after 6 weeks on a beach a few days before putting him in against NZ in the 60-0 shambles! All that despite having other midfield options in the squad already.

Bent turned out to be a fine player and I think he got a few more caps under Joe, but yeah, capping him off the plane was ludicrous.

[Camroc2]

How about we call a poach someone who was not born in country or go through school of country.

18 years old, were they in the country they are now playing in.

So every Northern Irish player who plays for Ireland is a poach as Northern Ireland is part of a different country to Ireland. And no Welsh, Scottish, English or Northern Irish person can be a poach for any of the other UK teams as it is all one country.

That is how daft this debate is. As there are four international rugby teams in these islands and we pretend as if they fit internationally recognised boundaries, are sovereign nations in their own right, operate as distinct economies etc. So we get the ridiculous situation of some people calling the children of people who move within the same country for work purposes, but whose children identify with and play for their original nation poaches.

There are plenty of people born and brought up in England who never consider themselves anything but Scots. Then of course there are the likes of Fin Smith who has two Scottish parents, whose grandfather was a Scottish Lion, but who always aligned with England. Scotland / England is just not the same as, for example, South Africa / France, and trying to apply the same definitions to both does not work. Unless of course you expect Scots working in England to rush back to Scotland to give birth just in case.

That's pure ignorant, Weegie; with a large dash of nastiness. I thought you were better than that.

[laurent]

How about we call a poach someone who was not born in country or go through school of country.

18 years old, were they in the country they are now playing in.

So every Northern Irish player who plays for Ireland is a poach as Northern Ireland is part of a different country to Ireland. And no Welsh, Scottish, English or Northern Irish person can be a poach for any of the other UK teams as it is all one country.

That is how daft this debate is. As there are four international rugby teams in these islands and we pretend as if they fit internationally recognised boundaries, are sovereign nations in their own right, operate as distinct economies etc. So we get the ridiculous situation of some people calling the children of people who move within the same country for work purposes, but whose children identify with and play for their original nation poaches.

There are plenty of people born and brought up in England who never consider themselves anything but Scots. Then of course there are the likes of Fin Smith who has two Scottish parents, whose grandfather was a Scottish Lion, but who always aligned with England. Scotland / England is just not the same as, for example, South Africa / France, and trying to apply the same definitions to both does not work. Unless of course you expect Scots working in England to rush back to Scotland to give birth just in case.

That's pure ignorant, Weegie; with a large dash of nastiness. I thought you were better than that.

not one bit Cam, seriously.

[Tichtheid]

There is nothing nasty or ignorant in weedgie’s post, it’s a deliberate use of absurdity to show the term poach is itself absurd and practically meaningless

At least that’s how I read it.

[Slick]

There is nothing nasty or ignorant in weedgie’s post, it’s a deliberate use of absurdity to show the term poach is itself absurd and practically meaningless

At least that’s how I read it.

This is Cammys specialised subject, he can find nastiness and bigotry from a million paces.

[PornDog]

There is nothing nasty or ignorant in weedgie’s post, it’s a deliberate use of absurdity to show the term poach is itself absurd and practically meaningless

At least that’s how I read it.

This is Cammys specialised subject, he can find nastiness and bigotry from a million paces.

I think Camroc just took up the whole situation wrong (Cammy gonna Cammy) - taking Weegies post as some sort of declaration that people from Northern Ireland can't be Irish, as opposed to his using that extreme position as an example to make a mockery of YMX's nonsense!

[sturginho]

Who is your country's most shameful poach?

Michael Bent for Ireland, no doubt about it. Think he was capped the week he landed in Dublin. And I think that was his 1 and only cap

Tobie Botes for Italy was a residency poach like any other, but I always got the impression that he was capped just so that Treviso wouldn't have to count him in their quota of foreign players

and then of course there was the case of Leandro Cedaro, Argentine second row who played in France. Capped once by Brunel "so the Pumas couldn't have him" and then never considered again

[Yr Alban]

In my experience Celts in England tend to inculcate a very strong sense of identity in their offspring.

I've never met more fervent Welsh supporters than those whose connection to soggy land beyond the Severn is a solitary grandparent.

But they must know they are actually English. English accent, upbringing. They can’t be that stupidly brainwashed by their parents?

Not only that, when they visit Wales/Scotland trying to call themselves locals they would be laughed at, they’d only ever be called English by the locals. At most a plastic.

Yeah, you’re massively wrong on this.

I was born in England and my parents didn’t move back to Scotland until I was 13. I’ve identified as Scottish my whole life, despite many people like yourself thinking they had a right to tell me who I am and where my roots are. I expect this doesn’t happen in NZ, as the nearest other country is thousands of miles away.

My uncle was born in Quetta, which is now in Pakistan. Nobody would seriously argue that this made him Pakistani, but exactly this logic is often applied to people who were born in the ‘wrong’ bit of the UK. It is so deeply embedded that there is a unit for premature babies in Rhyl which exists primarily because ‘Welsh babies born in England’ is emotive and politically unacceptable.

Due to work, both my kids ended up born in England and have grown up almost entirely in Wales. They have always identified as Scottish. You don’t get to tell them they’re not.

[petej]

Brad Shields as a straight off the plane job (he may even have still been playing SR and just met the team in SA - I forget)

Lesley Vainikolo for a capped straight from league residency poach

Eddie interepreted 'playing in England' as signed for an English club, don't think he even set foot in or around Coventry before playing for England.

Yep. Ended up being military medium and not worth the crush Eddie had on him.

Albeit there have been far worse in the shit poach hall of shame.

We have an awful record of poaching from rugby league. With 1 clear success I can think of (Jason Robinson).

[Slick]

There is nothing nasty or ignorant in weedgie’s post, it’s a deliberate use of absurdity to show the term poach is itself absurd and practically meaningless

At least that’s how I read it.

This is Cammys specialised subject, he can find nastiness and bigotry from a million paces.

I think Camroc just took up the whole situation wrong (Cammy gonna Cammy) - taking Weegies post as some sort of declaration that people from Northern Ireland can't be Irish, as opposed to his using that extreme position as an example to make a mockery of YMX's nonsense!

Yup

[Ymx]

In my experience Celts in England tend to inculcate a very strong sense of identity in their offspring.

I've never met more fervent Welsh supporters than those whose connection to soggy land beyond the Severn is a solitary grandparent.

But they must know they are actually English. English accent, upbringing. They can’t be that stupidly brainwashed by their parents?

Not only that, when they visit Wales/Scotland trying to call themselves locals they would be laughed at, they’d only ever be called English by the locals. At most a plastic.

Yeah, you’re massively wrong on this.

I was born in England and my parents didn’t move back to Scotland until I was 13. I’ve identified as Scottish my whole life, despite many people like yourself thinking they had a right to tell me who I am and where my roots are. I expect this doesn’t happen in NZ, as the nearest other country is thousands of miles away.

My uncle was born in Quetta, which is now in Pakistan. Nobody would seriously argue that this made him Pakistani, but exactly this logic is often applied to people who were born in the ‘wrong’ bit of the UK. It is so deeply embedded that there is a unit for premature babies in Rhyl which exists primarily because ‘Welsh babies born in England’ is emotive and politically unacceptable.

Due to work, both my kids ended up born in England and have grown up almost entirely in Wales. They have always identified as Scottish. You don’t get to tell them they’re not.

They’re not Scottish bro. What kind of sad parent does that to their kids.

[Tichtheid]

FFS, he's turned himself into Bimbo-lite. What a thing to aspire to.

[Yr Alban]

But they must know they are actually English. English accent, upbringing. They can’t be that stupidly brainwashed by their parents?

Not only that, when they visit Wales/Scotland trying to call themselves locals they would be laughed at, they’d only ever be called English by the locals. At most a plastic.

Yeah, you’re massively wrong on this.

I was born in England and my parents didn’t move back to Scotland until I was 13. I’ve identified as Scottish my whole life, despite many people like yourself thinking they had a right to tell me who I am and where my roots are. I expect this doesn’t happen in NZ, as the nearest other country is thousands of miles away.

My uncle was born in Quetta, which is now in Pakistan. Nobody would seriously argue that this made him Pakistani, but exactly this logic is often applied to people who were born in the ‘wrong’ bit of the UK. It is so deeply embedded that there is a unit for premature babies in Rhyl which exists primarily because ‘Welsh babies born in England’ is emotive and politically unacceptable.

Due to work, both my kids ended up born in England and have grown up almost entirely in Wales. They have always identified as Scottish. You don’t get to tell them they’re not.

They’re not Scottish bro. What kind of sad parent does that to their kids.

As I said quite clearly, you don’t get to tell anyone else who they are or how they feel. What a dismal, small excuse for a human being you must be to even want to. ‘Bro’.

[Yr Alban]

FFS, he's turned himself into Bimbo-lite. What a thing to aspire to.

I think there is a law of conservation of c**tery. Basically, any walk of life has to contain a certain number of c**ts. He’s just making up the numbers.

[weegie01]

There is nothing nasty or ignorant in weedgie’s post, it’s a deliberate use of absurdity to show the term poach is itself absurd and practically meaningless

At least that’s how I read it.

I thought that was obvious, but there you go.

[Ymx]

How many of you blue tw@ts actually are proper Scottish?
Born there, or at least spent majority of your childhood there?

I had no idea there were so many pretenders.

[PornDog]

Dude just fuck off with this bullshit - it's not funny!!

[weegie01]

Yeah, you’re massively wrong on this.

I was born in England and my parents didn’t move back to Scotland until I was 13. I’ve identified as Scottish my whole life, despite many people like yourself thinking they had a right to tell me who I am and where my roots are. I expect this doesn’t happen in NZ, as the nearest other country is thousands of miles away.

My uncle was born in Quetta, which is now in Pakistan. Nobody would seriously argue that this made him Pakistani, but exactly this logic is often applied to people who were born in the ‘wrong’ bit of the UK. It is so deeply embedded that there is a unit for premature babies in Rhyl which exists primarily because ‘Welsh babies born in England’ is emotive and politically unacceptable.

Due to work, both my kids ended up born in England and have grown up almost entirely in Wales. They have always identified as Scottish. You don’t get to tell them they’re not.

Sadly I can't recall his name, but there was the Edinburgh flanker selected for Scotland who was Scottish as far as he, his parents and grandparents were concerned. The eligibiltiy rules were changed as a result of his case as none of them had been born in Scotland. His was an old military family and they'd all been born in foreign forces postings.

He never actually got capped as by the time World Rugby had sorted this out time had moved on.

[Slick]

How many of you blue tw@ts actually are proper Scottish?
Born there, or at least spent majority of your childhood there?

I had no idea there were so many pretenders.

Born there, spent all my childhood in England. Come at me, bro.

Where do you live?

[Slick]

Yeah, you’re massively wrong on this.

I was born in England and my parents didn’t move back to Scotland until I was 13. I’ve identified as Scottish my whole life, despite many people like yourself thinking they had a right to tell me who I am and where my roots are. I expect this doesn’t happen in NZ, as the nearest other country is thousands of miles away.

My uncle was born in Quetta, which is now in Pakistan. Nobody would seriously argue that this made him Pakistani, but exactly this logic is often applied to people who were born in the ‘wrong’ bit of the UK. It is so deeply embedded that there is a unit for premature babies in Rhyl which exists primarily because ‘Welsh babies born in England’ is emotive and politically unacceptable.

Due to work, both my kids ended up born in England and have grown up almost entirely in Wales. They have always identified as Scottish. You don’t get to tell them they’re not.

Sadly I can't recall his name, but there was the Edinburgh flanker selected for Scotland who was Scottish as far as he, his parents and grandparents were concerned. The eligibiltiy rules were changed as a result of his case as none of them had been born in Scotland. His was an old military family and they'd all been born in foreign forces postings.

He never actually got capped as by the time World Rugby had sorted this out time had moved on.

I was thinking Budge Poutney until that last bit.

[Tichtheid]

Yeah, you’re massively wrong on this.

I was born in England and my parents didn’t move back to Scotland until I was 13. I’ve identified as Scottish my whole life, despite many people like yourself thinking they had a right to tell me who I am and where my roots are. I expect this doesn’t happen in NZ, as the nearest other country is thousands of miles away.

My uncle was born in Quetta, which is now in Pakistan. Nobody would seriously argue that this made him Pakistani, but exactly this logic is often applied to people who were born in the ‘wrong’ bit of the UK. It is so deeply embedded that there is a unit for premature babies in Rhyl which exists primarily because ‘Welsh babies born in England’ is emotive and politically unacceptable.

Due to work, both my kids ended up born in England and have grown up almost entirely in Wales. They have always identified as Scottish. You don’t get to tell them they’re not.

Sadly I can't recall his name, but there was the Edinburgh flanker selected for Scotland who was Scottish as far as he, his parents and grandparents were concerned. The eligibiltiy rules were changed as a result of his case as none of them had been born in Scotland. His was an old military family and they'd all been born in foreign forces postings.

He never actually got capped as by the time World Rugby had sorted this out time had moved on.

I was thinking Budge Poutney until that last bit.

Budge was a particularly interesting one, he was born in Southampton but his granny was born in the Channel Islands and as such he could choose to play for Scotland, for some reason.

[sturginho]

Sadly I can't recall his name, but there was the Edinburgh flanker selected for Scotland who was Scottish as far as he, his parents and grandparents were concerned. The eligibiltiy rules were changed as a result of his case as none of them had been born in Scotland. His was an old military family and they'd all been born in foreign forces postings.

He never actually got capped as by the time World Rugby had sorted this out time had moved on.

I was thinking Budge Poutney until that last bit.

Budge was a particularly interesting one, he was born in Southampton but his granny was born in the Channel Islands and as such he could choose to play for Scotland, for some reason.

I remember meeting Budge on a night out in Northampton in 98, he left an absolutely legless Grant Seeley at a taxi rank with us and said "make sure he gets in a cab will you?" :D

[sockwithaticket]

Sadly I can't recall his name, but there was the Edinburgh flanker selected for Scotland who was Scottish as far as he, his parents and grandparents were concerned. The eligibiltiy rules were changed as a result of his case as none of them had been born in Scotland. His was an old military family and they'd all been born in foreign forces postings.

He never actually got capped as by the time World Rugby had sorted this out time had moved on.

I was thinking Budge Poutney until that last bit.

Budge was a particularly interesting one, he was born in Southampton but his granny was born in the Channel Islands and as such he could choose to play for Scotland, for some reason.

Channel Islands give you eligibility for all of the UK iirc.

[sturginho]

YMX If I play the French Horn does that make me French?

[Tichtheid]

I remember meeting Budge on a night out in Northampton in 98, he left an absolutely legless Grant Seeley at a taxi rank with us and said "make sure he gets in a cab will you?" :D

Channel Islands give you eligibility for all of the UK iirc.

Yeah, I know, but wtaf? It was his nan who was from the CIs


Budge was great for Scotland - played with his heart on his sleeve - didn't he lose a bollock in fact?

He was instrumental in stripping out the old farts at Murrayfield when he left because of the amateurish way they went about things

[laurent]

YMX If I play the French Horn does that make me French?

as French as Ange Capuozzo.

[Ymx]

How many of you blue tw@ts actually are proper Scottish?
Born there, or at least spent majority of your childhood there?

I had no idea there were so many pretenders.

Born there, spent all my childhood in England. Come at me, bro.

Where do you live?

I’ve already told you, I just can’t do this with you slick

I was born in NZ, went to school and uni and worked there. I have a kiwi accent.

Tell me about you accent slick. Didn’t you grow up near the Queen? As plummy English as they come.

[Ymx]

Dude just fuck off with this bullshit - it's not funny!!

[sturginho]

YMX If I play the French Horn does that make me French?

as French as Ange Capuozzo.

Now now, don't be jealous that Ange wanted to play in the correct shade of Azzuro

[Tichtheid]

I'd like to see someone tell Sergio Parisse he isn't Italian.

[Lobby]

An English friend of mine used to get very irritated when we would remind him that he had been born in Edinburgh and should therefore be supporting Scotland.

His standard response was to quote the Duke of Wellington who reportedly rejected his Irish birth and heritage stating "being born in a stable does not make a man a horse".

[Ymx]

YMX If I play the French Horn does that make me French?

I’ve already told your mother, it doesn’t matter how many French horns she blows it won’t make her French.

[Slick]

How many of you blue tw@ts actually are proper Scottish?
Born there, or at least spent majority of your childhood there?

I had no idea there were so many pretenders.

Born there, spent all my childhood in England. Come at me, bro.

Where do you live?

I’ve already told you, I just can’t do this with you slick

I was born in NZ, went to school and uni and worked there. I have a kiwi accent.

Tell me about you accent slick. Didn’t you grow up near the Queen? As plummy English as they come.

It's a kind of posh/estuary/Scottish hybrid that becomes more Scottish depending on the number of pints and proximity to Murrayfield.

I did spend my childhood having the piss taken out of me in England for having a Scottish accent, then the piss taken out of me in Scotland for having an English accent

[PornDog]

An English friend of mine used to get very irritated when we would remind him that he had been born in Edinburgh and should therefore be supporting Scotland.

His standard response was to quote the Duke of Wellington who reportedly rejected his Irish birth and heritage stating "being born in a stable does not make a man a horse".

Point of information m'Lud - it wasn't said by the Duke himself, but rather said of him in defence of an attack against him in Parliament.

[OomStruisbaai]

Latest Irish poach

South African centre Wilhelm de Klerk has entrenched himself in Ireland where he has worked his way into the Under-20 Six Nations team while he will also be in action in South Africa during the World Junior Championships in June.

[Jim Lahey]

Latest Irish poach

South African centre Wilhelm de Klerk has entrenched himself in Ireland where he has worked his way into the Under-20 Six Nations team while he will also be in action in South Africa during the World Junior Championships in June.

Whats the story there?
Did he come over as a youngster or did he just want a better stamdard of life as an adult?

[Slick]

Latest Irish poach

South African centre Wilhelm de Klerk has entrenched himself in Ireland where he has worked his way into the Under-20 Six Nations team while he will also be in action in South Africa during the World Junior Championships in June.

Whats the story there?
Did he come over as a youngster or did he just want a better stamdard of life as an adult?

Same school as Van der Flier

[PornDog]

Latest Irish poach

South African centre Wilhelm de Klerk has entrenched himself in Ireland where he has worked his way into the Under-20 Six Nations team while he will also be in action in South Africa during the World Junior Championships in June.

Whats the story there?
Did he come over as a youngster or did he just want a better stamdard of life as an adult?

Parents came over here for work when he was 10 years old. So rugby wise not a poach.

[OomStruisbaai]

His parents were the chicken runners.