SBW Wallabies legends throw support behind Giteau Law change

Matt Giteau, Sonny Bill Williams and Drew Mitchell have all thrown their support behind Rugby Australia’s decision to scrap the contentious ‘Giteau Law’ criteria as early as this year’s spring tour.

As the Wallabies licked their wounds travelling from Auckland to Perth on Sunday, the Herald revealed RA’s plan to broaden the pool of players that coach Dave Rennie has at his disposal by loosening the Giteau Law.

Rugby Australia boss Andy Marinos revealed the existing 60-cap threshhold would be reviewed and likely lowered significantly to allow the Wallabies to select more players based overseas.

It was a move welcomed by the two men who prompted the rule change in 2015, when Michael Cheika wanted to select French-based players Drew Mitchell and Matt Giteau for the Rugby World Cup.

Linking to the Herald’s story, Mitchell wrote on Twitter: “People talking about the fact it would cause an ‘exodus’ of players heading overseas clearly haven’t seen the amount of people already leaving our shores anyway. The Wallabies is the greatest Rugby Union representative team in Australia….. Pick the BEST!!“

Giteau responded:n “Agreed beefy... Can we not create a new law though and keep the name.”

Williams, who told Stan Sport how he would change the eligibility rule last week, threw his support behind the proposed move.

“Good to see this forward thinking approach. It’s exactly what the wallabies need right now to be more competitive at the highest level!” Williams said.

The Giteau Law - which allows overseas-based players to be eligible for Wallabies selection if they’ve played in more than 60 Tests and spent seven seasons in Australia - was introduced ahead of the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

It has been tinkered with to include players who have signed a contract to return to Australia, and in 2020 the national coach was given an exemption to pick two players who didn’t meet the criteria.

The lure of richer competitions in the UK, France and England hasn’t abated, however. And after an inexperienced Wallabies team copped another Bledisloe Cup belting at the hands of the All Blacks, Marinos told the Herald the governing body plans to radically overhaul the eligibility 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 the director of rugby in South Africa when the Springboks made the decision to pick overseas-based players, and the proud rugby nation has reaped the rewards in recent years.

“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,” Marinos said.

Andy Marinos has foreshadowed the end of the ‘Giteau Law’ to boost the Wallabies’ competitiveness.Credit:Getty

“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.”

How the rule will change is still being examined by Marinos plus RA board members and former Wallabies Phil Waugh and Daniel Herbert.

Eddie Jones has previously called for the limit to be reduced to 40 Test caps. One option would be to bring the number of Tests required to qualify for overseas-based selection down as few as 15 or 20 Tests, which is just under two full international seasons.

Another would be to allow Rennie to handpick as many players as required, as he did with Samu Kerevi last week. Prominent players who are currently overseas and do not meet the existing 60-Test criteria include Rory Arnold, Will Skelton, Tolu Latu and Sean McMahon, but there are almost 100 Australian professionals with Super Rugby experience playing overseas.

Marika Koroibete, who currently sits on 37 Test caps, is also heading to Japan next year.

“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,” Marinos said.

“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.”

Marinos made the point that the world rugby market has changed dramatically in the six years since the Giteau Law was introduced. Japanese clubs have emerged as a financial powerhouse, pulling many emerging Australian stars out of Super Rugby clubs.

It was also brought in specifically to suit a group of players, rather than the whole code in Australia.

“In my view, the Giteau Law was brought in at a specific time in the calendar for a specific group at the 2015 World Cup. That’s something we are now working on internally, figuring out what the eligibility piece looks like,” Marinos said.

“It’s not the [whole] answer. But it’s a part of a holistic view of the game and what we need to address.

“We need to be able to invest into grassroots, so we are building a pathway for the future. We need additional investment in the game, so we can retain and invest into our high-performance program, so we improve each week and we have the best available talent.”

88 Australian rugby players plying their trade abroad*

Props: Sekope Kepu, Jermaine Ainsley, Paddy Ryan, Shambeckler Vui, Sam Talaki, Paul Alo-Emile, Guy Millar, Dave Lolohea, Oli Hoskins, Les Makin, Tim Metcher.

Hookers: Tolu Latu, Hugh Roach, John Ulugia.

Locks: Rory Arnold, Will Skelton, Harry Hockings, Rob Simmons, Adam Coleman, Sam Carter, Luke Jones, Dave Dennis, Kane Douglas, Lopeti Timani, Richie Arnold, Hugh Pyle, Tom Staniforth, Phoenix Battye, Alex Toolis, Sam Jeffries, Patrick Tafa, Michael Stolberg, Corey Thomas, Ben Toolis, James Moore.

Backrowers: Sean McMahon, Liam Gill, Angus Cottrell Scott Higginbotham, Reece Hewat, Tala Gray, Colby Fainga’a, Adam Korczyk, Jordy Reid, Jarrad Butler, Jack Cornelson, Ben Gunter, Lachlan McCaffrey, Lolo Fakaosilea, Maclean Jones.

Halfbacks: Will Genia, Nick Phipps, Ben Meehan, Matt Lucas, Ryan Louwrens, De Wet Roos, Harrison Goddard, Nic Stirzaker.

Five-eighths: Quade Cooper, Bernard Foley, Christian Leali’ifano, Mike Harris, Zak Holmes, Isaac Lucas,  Sam Greene, Jack Debreczeni, Mack Mason.

Centres: Samu Kerevi, Duncan Paia’aua, Bill Meakes, Curtis Rona, Sione Tuipolotu, Ben Tapuai, Tom English, Guy Porter.

Wingers/fullbacks: Kurtley Beale, Henry Speight, Sefa Naivalu, Peter Betham, Chris Feauai-Sautia, Eto Nabuli, Ben O’Donnell, Taqele Naiyarovoro, Luke Morahan, Joe Tomane, Semisi Tupou, Cam Clark, John Porch.

* Players with Super Rugby or Australian sevens experience

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Sam is a sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.

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