Shock as Petero Civoniceva poised to captain Fiji in rugby league's World Cup

[RedVee]

No he was awkwardly forced to not play for fiji previously, with threats of taking away his right to play origin. Now fiji get the over the hill scraps.

I call BS

 

[deluded pom?]

Care to supply some links to back up your claims Tone?

 

[roughyedspud]

even i don't believe that....

 

[Tone83]

What so he could have played for fiji and qld? As far as I'm aware if you want to play origin you have to make yourself available for australia. See the awkwardness of poor james tamou.

 

[RedVee]

So no source?

Look I don't have much issue with Petero switching except that it may be past him and I hope he doesn't hurt or embarrass himself. I do have a problem with players that switch repeatedly. Whether that be between Fiji and Aus or Scotland and England, or any other combination; I think it makes a mockery of the game.

I wish that if it is the intention of the RLIF that RLWCs are a free period for switching to heritage teams if you don't make Eng/Aus/NZ then they come out and may it clear.

I want more clearly defined rules that are enforced, not the free for all you are advocating.

 

[Springs]

Civoniceva wanted to play for Australia.

However I believe it is his right to play for Fiji now and I don't see how it damages the team or the game in any way.

 

[Tone83]

Don't need a source it's the rules.
Again, am I wrong? Can you play for qld or nsw and choose fiji over australia? I'd love to be proven wrong, I hope I'm wrong but I fear not. I actually wouldn't mind if you had to choose 1 nation as long as it didn't affect origin (which is obviously the most important thing).

 

[roughyedspud]

its a ARL rule...not a RLIF rule

under RLIF law u can play origin and for another nation...like tonga,fiji or italy

 

[Springs]

It's pretty much just an ARL threat that they won't pick you for Origin if you don't declare for Australia. Under RLIF law (I think), someone like Uate could declare for Australia, play the Origin series and then play for Fiji in the World Cup as he never actually played for Australia, which is all that counts under International rules.

 

[Danish]

Man born in Fiji wants to play for Fiji. Shocking stuff alright

 

[Nerd]

Sadly Rugby League is not an international sport

Are England, PNG, France and N.Z not other countries?

Derpppppp.......:crazy:

 

[deal.with.it]

Springs is on the money.
To make matters worse, not only can you then change nations once within the WC cycle, you can also apply in writing to the RLIF to change your allegiance again. That is what Uate did.

 

[roughyedspud]

Uate,NSWRL & ARL broke the rules........he played for fiji in 2009 in the pacific cup,that locked him into fiji till after the 2013 world cup.....and geoff carr knew this

http://www.theherald.com.au/story/455041/uate-no-chance-to-play-country/

AUSTRALIAN Rugby League chief executive Geoff Carr has ordered Country Rugby League officials not to select Knights flyer Akuila Uate for next Friday's representative clash with City Origin at Port Macquarie.


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The Herald was told on Wednesday that Uate was a virtual certainty for a Country Origin wing berth, except in the unlikely instance that Australia's selectors did not retain Brett Morris for next week's Anzac Test.

But Uate, by representing his native Fiji at the Pacific Cup in November, unwittingly made himself ineligible for representative honours in Australia until after the next World Cup, in 2013.

Country's chairman of selectors, Jock Colley, said on Wednesday that officials would attempt to gain dispensation from the Rugby League International Federation so that Uate could revoke his Fijian allegiance.

But Carr said yesterday that he had overruled those plans and that when Country select their squad on Sunday night they are not to include Uate.

"I've spoken to [Country Rugby League chief executive] Terry Quinn today . . . we heard that Uate might be in the mix," Carr said. "But he can't get picked because he's not eligible, and Country have been made aware of that."

Carr said there were "some provisions" for players to switch nationalities but the primary criterion was a two-year gap between representing each country.

If Uate applied for an exemption and agreed not to play for Fiji, he would have to wait until November 2011 before he could be considered for the Australian representative system.


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He would then not be allowed to play for Fiji at the next World Cup.

Uate declined to comment yesterday but told a Knights spokeswoman on Wednesday that he was "not aware of the finer details" of international qualification.

Carr said NRL clubs and player agents should ensure their players knew the regulations.

"To plead ignorance in this is becoming very difficult, because we keep telling them," Carr said. "There have been many issues that highlighted this, and obviously players have managers who should check before letting them play in these teams."

but hey what are rules for if they are'nt there to be broken!

 

[roughyedspud]

and despite all that theres a very good chance Uate will be playing for fiji in october anyway!

 

[bender]

and despite all that theres a very good chance Uate will be playing for fiji in october anyway!

If what you said above is correct, that is the way it should be, shouldnt it?

He played for fiji and was locked in until after the 2013 world cup (according to above).

So, how is it then possible that he is not eligible in 2013? Just because Australia may or may not have played an ineligible player doesnt change his eligibility does it? In fact, i would have thought that if what you say is correct, then he must play for fiji, if selected.

 

[roughyedspud]

he can play for whoever he wants....the rules became redundant the day he was illegally switched...

 

[the kirwan kid]

With the big picture in mind I'm ok with Petero playing for Fiji at the World Cup. We all know he's an Aussie - even he's said it will be really weird playing against Australia & hearing the anthem - but it's going to be a massive boost for league in Fiji.

I have an issue with the Uate or Moi Moi situations whereby they chop and change. Nor would I have a problem with Farah and 3/4 other guys playing for Lebanon against another developing nation without it effecting Australian rep status. Imagine what these guys could learn from them?

 

[Tone83]

Thats the biggest thing for me, the more people play for other countries the better it is for the game, especially at the world cup. This world cup there's gonna be so many great players at home watching on tv just because if they played for their country of birth or where they have ancestral roots it might comprimise their chances of playing origin (which they have every right to play regardless, if they were developed in one of those systems). The whole things a hair brained mess that could be fixed tomorrow in a way that benefits everyone. If you or your parents were born in a country, or you're a citizen of a country, you can choose to represent it. If you played grassroots club footy in qld or nsw you are eligible for origin. End of.

 

[hutch]

Thats the biggest thing for me, the more people play for other countries the better it is for the game, especially at the world cup. This world cup there's gonna be so many great players at home watching on tv just because if they played for their country of birth or where they have ancestral roots it might comprimise their chances of playing origin (which they have every right to play regardless, if they were developed in one of those systems). The whole things a hair brained mess that could be fixed tomorrow in a way that benefits everyone. If you or your parents were born in a country, or you're a citizen of a country, you can choose to represent it. If you played grassroots club footy in qld or nsw you are eligible for origin. End of.

No it is not end of, there are many other factors to consider. The arl have every right to decide who is eligible for their own rep games. If you want to play for an Australian state, you must be eligible for Australia. How ridiculous would it be if we had people playing for nsw and the England, or if 12 of nsw's squad played for Samoa this year. This hurts both origin and international rugby league. If a players first priority is nsw and Australia, then so be it. We want people committed to other countries turning out for them with a view to the future, not quick fix teams full of players who would rather play for someone else. It does nothing for international rugby league and it shows in their performances. Look at tonga in the last rlwc. Little development, picked a squad full of aus and nz rejects and little domestic development and it all showed.

What the arl can't or shouldn't be allowed to do is stop other nations from having their own rep or test series mid year, or convince other nations players (uate) to give up their test country for the benefit of nsw and Australia. Players should be given the opportunity to make a fair choice with the knowledge they will be playing in meaningful tests and tournaments, but they should not be allowed to have the choice of both!

 

[Springs]

Not ridiculous at all. It's NSW, a state rep team. The eligibility laws are completely different from international ones. Chris Heighington could have very well played for NSW and England in the last few years. In fact he's played for City and England, so that's ridiculous right? He's played for a Sydney rep team and another country? Oh no wait hang on no one cared.

If a player's first priority is Australia then so be it. But if it's Tonga then they should not be stopped from playing in a state series that has no bearing on International rugby league. If the players in these Tongan and Samoan teams wanted to play for someone else then they would be doing that. What's important is that they have regular games every year so these players don't leave so they can get a game somewhere else. The biggest drawcard is not their loyalty to Australia or New Zealand or whatever. The reason they play their is because they play several times every year in the biggest competitions where the players can get the most attention and recognition. The reason they choose Origin over pacific countries is not loyalty to NSW it's because Origin is hyped as the biggest games of the year and they want to make their name in the 'biggest stage', that and money.

Uate didn't give up Fiji for Australia, he gave it up for the money Origin brings in. Maybe in the future when every national team plays every year in big tournaments we should harden the switching rules but at the moment you can't expect a player to stick to Tonga so he can play 1 tournament in 4 years while he could play for Australia in 4 tournaments in the same 4 years and get paid a lot more.