Very apt point, mate.
That said, Iâm relaxed about nationhood as itâs a very complex issue in the modern world.
So whatâs your point?
Heâs less justified in playing for Ireland than Rice because he chose to live and play professional rugby in Ireland? You seem to have made some quotes up about him but thatâs neither here nor there.
If Rice decides to play for Ireland after all you lads beg him to do so, will he ever do that for Irish football? The fact that Ireland is his second choice isnât the issue, itâs the pathetic âlook at who Declan has just followed on Twitterâ stuff and discussion that is absolutely desperate.
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What are all of the ROI soccer players who went to England play?
Agreed as a basque oirishman i understand
The ones representing England?
What do they play for?
I would assume they play for different reasons mate
The whole issue of race, ethnicity and nationality appears to be very complex
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Would money have anything to do with it?
Em, if Rice does decide to declare for Eire, that would pretty obviously make them his first choice.
Why does Irish rugby refuse to pick players who move outside of Ireland? Seems pretty xenophobic and economically protectionist to me.
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How exactly would that he xenophobic? They do pick players outside of Ireland though anyway.
No quotes made up Tim, here is an interview from 2016 with him.
Itâs amazing how a big bundle of cash can change someoneâs mind. As long as fans are happy to ignore it and wave their Vodafone flags then Iâm sure it will continue.
They bent the rules for Sexton.
Zebo canât be selected, can he?
Lot of black pots and kettles around here today
the lad they racially abuse?
Ya. Him
How is Ireland his second choice? Fair fucks to the chap if he stays with Ireland. Heâs a fantastic young player who was born & raised in England. The most rational thing for him would be to declare for England.
He represented Ireland the whole way up the under age internationals.
One could say he developed his game with them.
Only the very best, the absolutely indispensible players, ie. Sexton, have remained under consideration for selection.
Itâs like if Argentina had picked Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero for the World Cup but told everybody else, sorry, you have to play in Argentina to be considered.
As soon as any other Irish player goes to a club in France or England, theyâre immediately considered ineligible, ie. Simon Zebo, Ian Madigan, Donncha Ryan, etc, and indeed Paddy Jackson. Why should a player have to ply their trade in Ireland to be eligible to play for Ireland? Itâs supposed to be the Irish team, not a team of players playing in Ireland.
Which is also why Aki and Stander, who came to ply their trade in a new country mainly with a view to playing for that country, make a mockery of international rugbyâs rules - in fact World Rugby recognised that theyâd made a mockery of it because they changed those rules to make it harder for players to move to another country they had no connection with, purely to play international rugby.
Aki and Stander have every right to play in Ireland, but they exposed international rugbyâs eligibility rules as so lax that they made a mockery of the concept of international sport. It would be like if the England football team were to start picking anybody who had been in the Premier League for three years.
Theyâre completely different to cases like Joey Carbery or Niyi Adeolokun who moved here at a young age.
Declan Rice has a genuine family connection to Ireland and has every right to play for Eire without anybody questioning his right to do so.
Why should Declan Rice have to ply his trade in the League of Ireland to be considered for selection for Eire, as youâve been comically implying? Why should Robbie Keane or Roy Keane have had to do similar?
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Good post, Youâre countering a circular reference type of an argument.
Ireland rubby picks players who overwhelmingly live and work in Ireland.
So âliving and work in Irelandâ conveniently becomes a key determinant of âIrishnessâ when comparing to actual sports, but itâs a bit of a misnomer really.
The Irish rubby authorities pay mercenaries with no previous familial or other connection here to live and work in Ireland.
Live and work in Ireland, you say? Bingo. Itâs a line of argument whereby someone from abroad working on a 3-year contract in the Irish office of a multinational would be deemed Irish, and even more Irish than an Irish passport holder working outside the country.
Itâs basically working backwards to get a narrow definition that works for rubby.
PS, rubby isnât a sport.
PPS, whatâs the big deal with Declan Riceâs position? Hasnât he been excelling in midfield for
West Ham for the most part after initially getting game time at the back? Is scoffing at Ireland âchasing a centre backâ one of these occasions where someone deliberately gets the facts wrong to disingenuously portray someone or something as being small time or irrelevant?
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