Australia to scrap ‘Giteau Law’ – report

Planet Rugby

(L to R) Matt Philip, Allan Alaalatoa and Robert Valetini of the Australia Wallabies during the Rugby Union Bledisloe Cup 2nd test match between New Zealand All Blacks and Australia Wallabies at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand, Saturday, August 14, 2021. (AAP Image/Photosport NZ/Andrew Cornaga) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY ** STRICTLY EDITORIAL USE ONLY, NO COMMERCIAL USE, NO BOOKS **

Rugby Australia are set to shelve the ‘Giteau Law’ in the wake of yet another Bledisloe Cup embarrassment, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

A young Wallabies team were thrashed 57-22 by the All Blacks on Saturday as the trans-Tasman cup remained in New Zealand for the 20th successive year.

They have fallen behind their southern hemisphere rivals, particularly over recent seasons, and are being hampered by some key players heading to Europe and Japan.

‘Giteau Law’ was initially introduced in 2015 to allow Australia to select overseas-based individuals that had 60 caps or more and had spent seven seasons playing in the country.

Changed over the years

That has been altered slightly over the years, with the governing body enabling Dave Rennie two exemptions during the 2020 season, but they are still struggling to put out a competitive enough squad.

It could therefore lead to a radical overhaul with RA chief executive Andy Marinos telling the Herald that they need to alter their selection criteria.

“When you look at the pool of talent from which we are selecting in comparison to our biggest rivals – be it New Zealand, be it South Africa, be it Argentina, be it England – they have access and the ability to choose their very best players no matter where they’re playing,” Marinos said.

“We do need to look into eligibility. I’m not saying it’s going to be alpha and omega. But it will certainly bring a lot more experience and a lot more depth across the board.”

Marinos was part of South African rugby when they were forced to abandon their policy of not selecting players from overseas, but said that they may not completely follow that example.

“I’ve lived through this and I’ve seen this movie before, when I was in the director of rugby role in South Africa. We were faced with exactly the same scenario,” he added.

“I’m not saying what worked in South Africa is the recipe for here. But we have to look at the eligibility piece to make sure we have the best players available to play week in, week out.

“I’m not saying we have to open the gates completely. Not at all. But we have to be more specific in identifying where we need to bolster the team, so that when we put a team out on the field we have the best against the best.

“We need to be able to choose from as broad of a pool as possible. That’s all part of building a high-performance program.”