I have to agree. Where is digby these days. Also a pity for OZ that O'Connor and beale went ff the rails.
Ex Rugby Heaven
Wallabies great Joe Roff hopes 'common sense prevails' and ACT Brumbies winger Henry Speight's international eligibility isn't 'compromised by bureaucracy'.
Fijian-born Speight has been the highest try scorer for an Australian province in the past two Super Rugby seasons and was expecting to be eligible for Wallabies selection for the coming European spring tour.
Given the Wallabies' current winger crisis he would be a shoo-in for the starting XV.
But a two-month stint for Waikato in New Zealand's 2011 ITM Cup has thrown a spanner in the works (Planned of course). The earliest he can play for Australia is November 30, but a worse-case scenario is September next year.
AdvertisementAn International Rugby Board three-person committee will consider Speight's application for Wallabies eligibility.
Roff said he hoped bureaucracy would not make Speight spend another year in the international wilderness. He felt Speight had shown his commitment to Australian rugby during his three Super Rugby seasons.
'I was at a lunch with Robbie Deans when he was the coach of the Wallabies and he was openly excited about the possibility of taking Henry on the [spring] tour and he saw Henry as a key ingredient to the Wallabies team going forward,' Roff said.
'I really do hope that common sense prevails and his eligibility is not compromised by a piece of bureaucracy that doesn't really apply to him. I can't wait for the next time we see him play, I just hope it's in a Wallabies jersey as well.'
It is IRB regulation 8.1(c) that is the sticking point for Speight.
He must complete 36 consecutive months of Australian residence, which is defined as 'the place or location in which the player has his primary and permanent home'.
IRB guidelines go on to state 'at least 10 months' actual physical presence of the player in the country concerned throughout any qualifying year of the residency period, will be required'.
Speight joined the Brumbies in November 2010, which means he should be almost eligible.
He made his debut for the Brumbies during the 2011 Super Rugby season, but then joined Waikato for a stint in the ITM Cup, which ran from July 15 to September 3.
That time in New Zealand means Speight may have spent less than 10 months in Australia during that 12-month period. (Man those kiwi rascals no doubt lured Speight to NZ!!!)
The IRB was still looking into the matter.
'In relation to this, no ruling has yet been made in relation to Henry Speight's eligibility to play for Australia,' IRB spokesman James Fitzgerald said. 'We have received an application in that regard.
'In accordance with the regulations, a three-person committee will be set up to consider the application. As this is an ongoing process, I can make no further comment.'
With Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie deciding not to take Speight to Europe due to the uncertainty, Speight had surgery on his right knee on Tuesday. It was just minor surgery and he is expected to be fit for the 2014 Super Rugby season opener against the Queensland Reds at Canberra Stadium.
Roff expected Speight to come out firing. 'He's the sort of character that won't allow something like this to stop him,' he said.
'He'll get on with it and be potentially even better next year throughout the Super Rugby to really stamp a claim on wanting to wear that Wallabies jersey.'
Wallabys building up a very good backline. Get in one or two better forwards and who can doubt them mastering the wee abs on a regualr basis.
