England cleared to select SA-born Bristol midfield star
NEWS: Pretoria-born Benhard Janse van Rensburg will become eligible to represent England on July 8, placing him in contention for England’s Nations Championship fixture against Fiji three days later.
The Bristol Bears centre has emerged as one of the standout midfielders in the Premiership and has been named in the league’s Dream Team of the Season at inside centre in consecutive years.
Despite his consistent performances in England, the 29-year-old has never played senior international rugby. Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has largely persisted with established midfield options, including Damian de Allende, Lukhanyo Am, Jesse Kriel, Andre Esterhuizen, Damian Willems and Ethan Hooker.
Janse van Rensburg is expected to be unavailable for England’s opening tour match against South Africa on July 4 due to eligibility timelines, but he would qualify for subsequent fixtures against Fiji and Argentina.
His potential availability comes after England successfully secured clarification from World Rugby regarding his international eligibility status.
Janse van Rensburg previously made a single appearance for the Junior Springboks during the 2016 World Rugby Under-20 Championship after joining the squad as emergency injury cover. He featured off the bench in a match against Argentina before leaving the tournament.
At the time, South Africa’s Under-20 side was designated as the country’s next senior representative team, which ordinarily would have tied him permanently to South Africa under previous eligibility regulations.
However, World Rugby accepted the RFU’s argument that such a brief appearance should not prevent him from representing another nation in the future.
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