I apologise if that is what you took from my post.heno wrote: ↑November 6th, 2020, 4:45 pmYou've painted 2 pictures there, a nice wholesome image of an Irish person, and a fairly undesirable vision of a foreigner. Its easy to like the former and dislike the latter. But where I take issue is assuming all irish are the former and all foreigners are the latter.munster#1 wrote:I am definitely not stating that there is an ulterior motive to capping these players, you are trying to put words in my mouth there.heno wrote: ↑November 6th, 2020, 11:45 am
I can believe a foreign lad gets a cap against Georgia in order to lock them into Ireland. But essentially that's no different to just having a look at another option.
But beyond that, it's a straight shootout. Be better than the other guy, and you'll get picked. If there is a foreign guy getting a cap, it's because farrell thinks they are better for the game plan.
Thinking there are other factors coming into play is no different than thinking omahony is only getting caps because there is a secret munster quota.
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I think that where we (Ireland) have a gap we should try to plug it in any way possible.
I am just not a fan of these players coming in and playing in positions of relative strength, or that Irish rugby sign project players in positions where we do not have a weakness.
Having 9 such players in our squad is a step too far for me.
It means that 9 players who have come up through our systems, who have dreamt of playing for their country, or have turned down offers from outside Ireland to keep their dream alive, are now going to be watching the upcoming tournament from their couches.
While lads who arrived in the country 3 years previous and will most likely return home once their career is over, are playing for Ireland for the paycheque or for the opportunity to play international rugby, not really caring which crest is on the front of the jersey.
So we can interview all candidates and vet them for Irishness one by one, or terminate anyone's contract when negative evidence is forthcoming (as in a media statement stating they don't care about Ireland).
Or we can just treat them all as individuals who have met the requirements, pick a team and get on with it.
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I do not know every foreign player who has went on to represent Ireland, but IMO, and that is not always correct, I would doubt that many of the players with no Irish lineage grew up dreaming of representing Ireland.
I already stated that no metrics should be used to come to the conclusion of a players Irishness. I do not blame the players at all. They are doing what anyone in any career would do. They are looking to get to the top of their game.
Given the opportunity I would do the same, if I got a call to represent any country in Rugby, I would jump at the chance, which was a strong selling point for many of these project players.
The issue is, that this is not any career. This is international sport.
This is something that many have slated the All Blacks for doing for years.
It is certainly a contentious issue, and I respect your opinion on it, and I don’t for a second think that your opinion on this issue is wrong.
My opinion is that when it comes to international sport, it should not be treated with the same approach as you would the club game.
Thankfully from my stand point this issue will be largely gone in a few years, as the 5 year rule should take care of this.