K man for england

[jargan83]

What super rugby province will he play for having just signed a 2 year deal.
He's gone and there isn't anything we can do about it.
Just hoping that if he gets a cap it's not just to keep him from playing for australia should he come back

But if the ARU really want him to play for the wallabies they'll somehow manage to pull cash out of another force wallaby's deal, pay him out of the current gig and then give him a spot at there. Just. You. Wait.

K-Bomb will be playing for Tahs next year. Just you watch!

[jono]

Now you're just sounding pro eastern states rugby jargs!
When did you move over here!?!?!?!?

[jargan83]

Now you're just sounding pro eastern states rugby jargs!
When did you move over here!?!?!?!?

I'm the spy sent by NSWRU to pretend to be a Force fan.

[jono]

You bastard! I bet you're sponsored by the ARU as well!?!?!!

[GIGS20]

K-Bomb will be playing for Tahs next year. Just you watch!

There we go...there's my tinfoil hat moment!

[Buddha Handy]

FOX SPORTS
September 22, 2014 10:35AM


France-based Brock James and Blair Connor were last week named in a 74-man World Cup training squad by Les Bleus coach Philippe Saint-Andre.

http://www.foxsports.com.au/rugby/wa...-1227066237982

Is Brock James only just eligible now? Seems like he has been gone for a long time and probably could have been playing for them earlier given his form previously.

And didn't Blair Connor play a few games for the reds and was useless from memory.

[Jeansyjive]

Surely when there were trying to organise for him to work in England they would have looked at his heritage then to work out which visa he could apply for?

I will actually feel sick seeing him run out in an England jersey. Obviously if this is the way he gets to play world cup rugby then I wish K-bomb all the best but he should be in the Wallabies gold. I guess there is debate that Slipper and sio might be ahead of him here anyway.

[Sheikh]

I guess there is debate that Slipper and sio might be ahead of him here anyway.

This is the problem. Slipper and Sio might 'offer more around the park' than Keiran (although I doubt it) but he's a better scrummager and should have been selected for the Wallabies.

Although, from reports, even if the ARU had given him a top-up they might not have been able to match Saracens' offer.

[jargan83]

Although, from reports, even if the ARU had given him a top-up they might not have been able to match Saracens' offer.

‘Ewen McKenzie came and spoke to me at training in pre-season,’ he said. ‘Then during the season I thought I was going well, but I didn’t hear anything else from them (Australia). When this opportunity came along I just thought, “I could snap my leg in the next game, so I have to take this”.

‘When I spoke to Foles (Force coach Michael Foley) and told him I was planning on doing it, he said, “But you are on their (Australia’s) radar”. Maybe I was on their radar, but there was a beaming light shining me in the face, coming from here. It was a massive opportunity and I couldn’t just ignore that, hoping for something else to happen.’

After reading the bolded part I got the feeling K-Bomb would have been off regardless of ARU intervention.

[palitu]

After reading the bolded part I got the feeling K-Bomb would have been off regardless of ARU intervention.

This was the bit that told me how he was thinking:

But you are on their (Australia’s) radar”. Maybe I was on their radar, but there was a beaming light shining me in the face, coming from here.

[Alison]

Hope this doesn't start a trend of would-be Wallabies being 'bought off' even before they've started their international careers.....

Not that I blame the players - they need to make hay while the suns shines. It just proves to me how poorly off rugby union is in Australia.

I read something recently that suggested that union in Australia may be going the same way as football in England, where club football has become much more important and successful than the national team. Without more buying power at the ARU - and, dare I say, - a less blinkered view of the talent pool we have in Aus, I think I agree with that view.

[wholetruth]

Kieran was aware of his English background before he left for England and so were Saracens. That's what made him such a good get for them. This was in The West about five weeks ago.
Neverthless Good Luck to him.

Force prop could play against Wallabies.By Nick Taylor
August 5, 2014 7:38 PM
There is real irony in Kieran Longbottom's move to English club Saracens for the next two years.
Having been considered a Wallabies World Cup prospect, the Western Force prop could now play for England.
The tighthead was on Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie's radar but when he became aware that Longbottom had agreed to the Saracens move he took him off his list under the ARU policy of not choosing overseas players.
But Longbottom, the first born-and-raised West Australian to progress through the local juniors system to the Force and whose heritage makes him available for England, has no regrets.
His background also made him very valuable to Saracens, losing finalists in both last season's European Heineken Cup and English Aviva premiership, because he will not take up one of their overseas player spots.
But none of that crossed Longbottom's mind when considering the lucrative move abroad. He did not even realise his English availability until he made the decision.
"I didn't go hunting or searching for anything," he said. "The opportunity just landed in my lap and when an opportunity presents itself like that you have to take it and run with it.
"In any situation you have to take the opportunity that is in front of you. You have to take certainty when an opportunity is staring at you in the face.
"If you wait for something better to come along it might never arrive or just walk you by.
"I knew I had English ancestry but I didn't think anything about it until it was mentioned to me.
"It's obviously a bonus and I have thought about it (playing for England), but playing for Saracens is my priority."

[jargan83]

I read something recently that suggested that union in Australia may be going the same way as football in England, where club football has become much more important and successful than the national team.

Everyone knows why the England soccer team is going down the gurgler and that is because of the reliance of overseas talent in the English Premier League.

Only 68 English players started for their club sides out of 220 spots at the start of the EPL last year.

Unless the article you read implied that club Rugby in England was going to be more important then club Rugby in England. There have been a few articles speculating that is happening in France given how many players from overseas end up in France.

Lack of money in Rugby Union is important however. Why would a young bloke hang around play in the NRC where he might get a state contract at the end of it when he can make money right away playing Rugby League in the Holden Cup.

[wholetruth]

Why would a young bloke hang around play in the NRC where he might get a state contract at the end of it when he can make money right away playing Rugby League in the Holden Cup and be paid for it.

Exactly. Just ask Waqa Blake the Wanneroo kid who went off to the Panthers and is now in the Junior Kangaroos

[chibi]

Maybe K-Bomb feels English? It's not out of the question. I know plenty of people who feel allegiance to their ethnic group or parent's nationality first over their allegiance to Australia.

Of course, whether I agree with it or not, is a different story, and probably irrelevant. But this situation does exist in Australia.