Spain can once again stay out of a rugby World Cup, in this case France 2023, if a claim progresses against it for another player eligibility issue. The Spanish Rugby Federation has issued a statement in which it reports “the highest body in our sport is going to examine a possible irregularity in the eligibility of a player from the XV of the Lion during the Rugby Europe Championship 2021-2022qualifying for the World Cup France 2023. As stated in his statement, World Rugby, that positively assesses that the FER has collaborated from the outset by providing all the requested documentation, has appointed a independent committee in order to resolve this open file after a claim filed by the Romanian Rugby Federation (FRR) “.
The player in question is the South African pilier from Alcobendas Rugby Gavin Van Den Berg, that was measured against Robles in the REC 2021 match on Romanian soil. One of the requirements to be an eligible player is not to spend more than 90 days out of Spain during the years of the cycle in which that eligibility is generated, and to the best of your knowledge The newspaper, the South African would have spent more than 90 days outside. However, this circumstance was consulted by the Spanish Rugby Federation, as it had a personal reason and justified the player’s roots in Spain. AND World Rugby he would have given an affirmative answer, so the XV del León had him in that match. The problem would come because in those days that Van den Berg spent outside of Spain, the Romanians add more, providing publications on the South African’s social networks as evidence of this. Something that the FER would not have been informed of by the player.
Like in Japan 2019
From the Federation it is pointed out that “we are convinced that things have been done correctly and for this reason we can only wait for what is resolved by the independent committee appointed by World Rugby and is chaired by Nigel Hampton and assisted by Pamela Woodman and Frank Hadden”. It must be remembered that World Rugby has the power to make any type of decision, and is not a body attached to the TAS, so it could decide both to eliminate Spain for failing to meet the requirements, and to keep it in the World Cup, given its collaboration at all times, and sanction the player for not informing Spain properly. The XV del León was already left out of the previous World Cup due to improper alignment of two players, Carpenter and Belliewhat it cost the Federation that he presides over Alfonso Feijoo be disqualified from qualifying for Japan 2019.
