New Zealand Kiwis coach Michael Maguire has declared that international rugby league needs a complete overhaul in regards to its eligibility rules.
The declaration from Maguire comes after several former Kiwis or Junior Kiwis have represented other countries in the international arena, and players who play for New Zealand can not play State of Origin due to being a tier-one nation.
Former Kiwis captain Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, ex-Junior Kiwis captain Jarome Luai, Queensland stars Moeaki Fotuaika and Murray Taulagi and NSW Blues forward duo Junior Paulo and Stefano Utoikamanu are just some players that have switched allegiances - impacting New Zealand badly.
Under the current international rules, players are free to jump between tier one and tier two nations whenever they like but can't swap between tier one countries and anyone who plays for a tier one nation, apart from Australia, cannot play State of Origin football.
โWhen you're talking to players, they've got choices and they're the rules at the moment,โ Maguire said viaย Stuff.co.nz.
โBut it would be nice to be able to say this is the path you're going down, especially for the Kiwis.
โWe have players who are eligible for the Kiwis and we are probably held back. There are a number of players that have so many options, they can play for the Kiwis, Samoa, Tonga and there's obviously the Origin arena.
โIt would be nice to have it levelled out then players understand where they're going and we can build off that.
โTo be honest, I just want players who want to play for the Kiwis and when I talk to the players, if they've got a call and want to go elsewhere, then so be it.
โThe ones that have walked through the door here are excited about being here and are very passionate they're playing for the Kiwis.โ
โThe jumping backwards and forwards is a tricky one and I understand the reasons why,โ Maguire added.
โBut with the other nations starting to rise to the levels of what we want, then it would be nice to even it out to align where people want to play.โ
Maguire's comments came after Australia head coach Mal Meninga also called for an overhaul of international eligibility that would see players banned from switching between nations.
This came after North Queensland Cowboys and Queensland winger Murray Taulagi decided to represent Samoa in the Pacific Championships despite being a member of the Kangaroos winning Rugby League World Cup squad last year.
โI don't believe guys should be able to go back and forth (between countries),โ Meninga said viaย News Corp.
โWhat I would like to see is that every player nominates which country they want to play for right from their first registration in the NRL.
โThat way, there is no confusion around who they are eligible for.
โWhen they make the NRL and they have to make a tough decision on Test football, they have to make one call.โ
Currently, only Australia, England and New Zealand have tier-one status, whilst Tonga, Samoa, Fiji, France, and Papua New Guinea have second-tier status.
