Brendan O’Brien
FAIR play to Luke Narraway.
For anyone who doesn’t know, Narraway is the Gloucester back row and captain who took grave exception to England’s preliminary Rugby World Cup squad named by manager Martin Johnson earlier this week.
The 27-year-old had just enjoyed an impressive season with his club and captained an, admittedly understrength, England side against the Barbarians less than a month before but his name was nowhere to be seen on Johnson’s list.
There are those who say he simply wasn’t good enough. Maybe so, but missing out to Thomas Waldrom was what really got on Narraway’s goat. Waldrom, a New Zealander, only found out he was eligible for the Red Rose recently thanks to an English-born grandmother.
“As for myself, still dreaming of a holiday!!!” Narraway tweeted on hearing the announcement, “good luck to Thomas the tank and his English nan #notbittermuch”. Those 129 characters won’t have done much for his chances of a recall but it is hard not feel some sympathy.
Narraway was born and bred in Worcester, the site of the English Civil War’s last battle and a town which gave birth to the world renowned Lea and Perrins Worcestershire sauce. He’s as English as John Bull.
Waldrom? Waldrom is from Lower Hutt, near Wellington on New Zealand’s south island and spent the first nine years of his career plying his trade in his land of birth. He has been living in England less than 18 months.
The Leicester number eight isn’t the only ‘Englishman’ with an exotic background to make it into Johnson’s 45-man party. Matt Stevens hails from Durban, Manu Tuilagi is Fijian and Shontayne Hape’s is from Auckland.
In all, Johnson saw fit to name 13 foreigners from around the globe which begs the question: just what is the point of international sport anymore? If this is the future, why bother with any regulations anymore and not just make it a free-for-all?
Johnson’s actions are unique only in the volume of imported talent he saw fit to invite. Most countries and sporting codes have long availed of every opportunity to improve their chances on the field, in the pool or on the track.
The All Blacks have been raiding the South Sea Islands for years now, Brazilian-born footballers have lined out for more than 30 different countries at the last count and African athletes are winning Olympic medals for oil-rich Arab states.
It’s a hotter topic in Ireland than most other places, of course. Northern Ireland are still fuming over the drain of footballers like Darron Gibson and Marc Wilson down south but other sports have been just as eager to say ‘Cead Mile Failte’.
Alistair Cragg anyone?
Or take rugby again. All three Tri-Nation countries are represented in Ireland’s preliminary world cup squad which Declan Kidney named this month. Isaac Boss is from New Zealand, Tom Court was born in Brisbane and Brett Wilkinson is South African.
All three have been working and living in Ireland for at least five years and qualify fair and square under residency rules but the question is: where do we draw the line. If Johnson’s squad is any indicator then maybe the question will soon be ‘what line?’
Source: http://feeds.examiner.ie/~r/iesportsblog/~3/fyzu8I5dI60/post.aspx
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