Wallabies move closer to Boks' winning recipe
NEWS: Rugby Australia has signalled that more overseas-based players will be allowed to represent the Wallabies.
This is a major shift away from a strict policy that has heavily favoured domestic players.
The so-called ‘Giteau Law’ – named after former flyhalf Matt Giteau – has for years put restrictions on overseas-based players being selected for the Wallabies.
However, with Test stars such as lock Will Skelton, flanker Tom Hooper, and prop Taniela Tupou all joining an exodus to Europe, Rugby Australia has indicated that the Giteau Law has been dropped.
That gives head coach Joe Schmidt a free hand when he names his squad for the Rugby Championship this week.
It is also a lot closer to the South African recipe that allowed the coach free access to all overseas-based players and delivered back-to-back World Cup victories.
“Joe [Schmidt] has no impediment to select whoever he wants,” Rugby Australia head of high performance Peter Horne said.
“The Giteau Law, it’s kind of redundant, right?” Horne added in comments reported by rugby.com.au.
Schmidt is due to name his squad on Thursday for the Rugby Championship, which begins this month.
Scrapping the rule would also benefit incoming head coach Les Kiss, who takes over the Wallabies next year, tasked with preparing for the Rugby World Cup on home soil in 2027.
The Giteau Law was adopted by the Wallabies in 2015, allowing overseas-based players to represent the side only if they had played 60 Tests for Australia and seven seasons of Super Rugby.
It enabled players such as Matt Giteau, who was then starring for Toulon, to be picked for the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
Before then, Australia had a blanket ban on overseas-based players representing the Wallabies.
