Best Player Poachers In The 6N

[OomStruisbaai]

just like FW de Klerk.

[OomStruisbaai]

Latest Irish poach

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.

Interesting afrikaans article in our local newspaper.
https://www.netwerk24.com/netwerk24/spo ... l-20240213



was 10 year old when his parents moved to Ireland for a planned 2 years.

Naas botha and Jean de Villiers his heroes.

His grand dad said a rugby player must be as good as Naas Botha because his pants was always clean.

Hope to tour SA with the seniors.

[Jim Lahey]

Well he's one of us now.

[sturginho]

Speaking of Irish poaches, apparently Tom Clarkson is eligible for Italy:

https://emergingrugby.wordpress.com/202 ... ian-rugby/

[Punter15]

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.

Exactly this, each to their own. I have a Scottish dad, a French mum, born overseas, bought up all over the place, and played all my rugby in England (albeit for a Scottish club post school and uni). I have only ever considered myself Scottish and only ever dreamed of representing Scotland. Unfortunately, the closest I ever came was being signed up for Ally’s Tartan Army as an 8 year old.

[OomStruisbaai]

Now that SA rugby moved the CC to wntera whole new market open for CC provinces other then the URC franchises. The Bulls took Boland, Stormers took Griquas, Ospreys took the Cheetahs and lately the Sharks tok Border and the Pumas.. it's the only way these provinces will survive. As a Bolander I expect them to gimprove from here. They got the most clubs (200 +) in world rugby. Hawies returning to his roots.