James Haskell slams ‘utter nonsense’ England overseas eligibility rule

James Haskell has branded the overseas eligibility rule the ‘stupidest rule conceived’ and ‘utter nonsense’.

In an exclusive interview with The Rugby Paper, via Betway, he called for the rule to be scrapped. 

Jack Willis, a former team-mate of Haskell at Wasps, recently brought the rule into focus again. 

Willis has left the door open to play for Ireland following his ineligibility for England caused by his switch to becoming Toulouse captain.  

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Haskell calls for end to overseas player rule

Discussing the rule, Haskell said: “It’s utter nonsense. It’s the stupidest rule conceived.

“No other sport has one, and I don’t know why you’d ever bother doing it. 

“Players should be allowed to play where they want and still play for their country.

“Rugby clubs can’t afford to pay all these players, so they need to let players go abroad and have that opportunity. 

“Why would you have some of the best players playing in France and not be able to pick them? 

“I was one of the first players who got to play around the world without an eligibility rule, so it was kind of fine for me.

“But they need to get rid of it. 

“No one in rugby does anything very fast. It takes ages to make decisions, and rugby just gets in the way of rugby, unfortunately.”

England are genuine World Cup contenders – with discipline the key factor

Haskell, meanwhile, believes England are genuine World Cup contenders and that discipline will make or break their hopes.

He warned that there are very fine margins between them being a heavyweight and flopping on the big stage next year.

Asked if they are genuine contenders, Haskell replied: “I think they are.

“I think Ben Earl, Tom Curry, Finn Smith and Feyi Waboso, when he’s fit, are all very good. 

“I think Maro Itoje and Ellis Genge are world-class as well. 

“Are they playing world-class rugby at the moment? Probably not, but I think they’ve got the potential to do very well in the World Cup.

“They’ve got the skill set to go on and win it.

“There’s a really interesting statistic that if England keeps 15 players on the field, they’re number two in the world.

“If they lose players to yellow cards, they drop down to ninth or 11th in the world, depending on the number of players. 

“If their discipline isn’t right, they’ve got no chance of going on and doing what needs to be done. That’s the biggest defining factor.”

Haskell backs Borthwick and puts responsibility on players

The former England back rower also delivered his verdict on Steve Borthwick and his team, amid intense focus on their methods with players.

Captain Maro Itoje said after the weekend win over Australia that the squad are lucky to have Borthwick in charge.

Haskell said: “I do think the coaching staff are good. I think they’re the right people for the job.

“They’ve got a game plan, and they’ve shown they can win games.

“But it’s down to the players on the field to have that discipline, enact the game plan and play well.”

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