Gregor Paul: IRB's tough talk on Sevens eligibility loophole is futile

Steffon Armitage fends off New Zealand Maori's Hosea Gear. Photo / Ross Setford

The IRB have chosen to fight a war they cannot win on the eligibility front. They can't win their battle to stop players exploiting an unforeseen loophole to switch their allegiance.

They can't win it because their method to close the hole is not only arrogant, arbitrary and conflicted, it is discriminatory and contrary to the central ethos of the game which is one rule for all. And they can't win it because, ultimately, if they do, it will be another kick in the teeth for the Pacific Islands at a time when they are daring to believe their collective voice is finally being heard.

The truth that the IRB don't want to promote is that they may have stuffed this up. When they got Sevens into the Olympics, they didn't realise that it would open the possibility of people being able to play for two nations again. They didn't fully understand the extent of the consequences - that Sevens could recapture someone's eligibility for all levels and forms of the game.

Now that Samoa have as many as nine players ready to switch their allegiance, the IRB are talking tough. Players whose eligibility has been captured will have to gain the IRB's approval to play for another country. "There is a regulations committee that will look at all applications for transfer and they will look to see if it's for bona fide Sevens reasons," said IRB chief executive Brett Gosper.

"There is a safety net and any transfer will have to be passed by the committee. They will act according to the spirit of the law. For example, if we have huge props applying for a career in Sevens, then we'll smell a rat. That's an obvious example and there will be some cases that are in a grey area, but we want to ensure the integrity of the regulation and the spirit behind it is upheld.

"Any obvious abuses that go counter to that spirit of why we're doing this will be caught in the regulations committee net. But players will move in both codes by coming into the Sevens game - that will happen."

The problem the IRB have is knowing what a rat looks or smells like in this scenario. Who is to say that the 125kg John Afoa wouldn't be able to play Sevens, while the 103kg Steffon Armitage could? What about Mathieu Bastareaud - he's 125kg but he plays centre. England's No 8 Billy Vunipola is close to 130kg but he's a nice ball player. If he wanted to try to make the Tongan team for the Olympics would it be ridiculous?

The only thing that is ridiculous is that the IRB think they have the right to make such judgements. In a world that is increasingly guilty of being prejudiced against bigger people, this policy is not only offensive, it is probably illegal.

Then there is the whole conflict-of-interest element. Almost every nation in the world will have a vested interest in the outcome of every player who applies to switch.

The IRB can talk as tough as they like but they can't fix the problem they created by forming a little all-powerful club. It's too late. They can reject applications but that won't end the matter - those who are denied the right to play for another country will inevitably end up in court where they will get justice.