Eddie Jones will have the green light to select the New Zealand-born wing Denny Solomona despite the Rugby Football Union’s public support of extending the residency rule but England could run the risk of having to wait until 2019 if he is not handed a first cap before the end of the Six Nations Championship.
The 23-year-old Sale wing, who has scored eight tries in his first six league games since controversially crossing codes in December, will complete the necessary three-year residency period next week, meaning he could in theory be available to face either Scotland or Ireland. However, if he is not picked and World Rugby votes through measures to extend the residency rule to five years at its council meeting in May, Solomona might not be eligible for a further two years.
Solomona’s intentions are unclear and in September, when playing for Castleford Tigers, for whom he scored a record 42 tries last year, he was asked if he would consider playing rugby league for England but said: “My heart’s not here, it’s not for England.” But the financial incentives on offer in international union – England players receive around £22,000 per Test – are far greater than in league and after a first-half hat-trick against Wasps nine days ago Sale’s director of rugby, Steve Diamond, said: “He wants to play on massive stages.” Last week, however, Diamond said: “We aren’t in a rush to get it sorted. It’s down to him whether he wants to.” In October, Solomona represented Samoa at rugby league but that does not affect his international career in union.
Should World Rugby vote through the five-year residency change – which is what the governing body’s vice-chairman, Agustin Pichot, wants – it is unlikely to be implemented immediately and, instead, a grace period would probably follow. That would mean England would almost certainly be free to pick Solomona for their tour to Argentina in June. Despite the RFU chief executive, Ian Ritchie, saying in January that “our view will be that a five-year qualification is the optimum position to be in”, it is understood Jones would not be blocked from picking Solomona unless World Rugby legislation does not allow it.
There could be a further complication, though. Solomona’s form for Sale has put him in the reckoning for the British & Irish Lions, whose tour of New Zealand clashes with England’s in Argentina. There is a precedent of cross-code converts being fast-tracked into the Lions squad – Jason Robinson had not started for England when picked in 2001 – and in December Warren Gatland said: “There are players outside international squads we have mentioned … we have not ruled out anyone.”
If Solomona was called up for the Lions tour, he would miss the England tour to Argentina. And even if he featured in one of the three Tests against the All Blacks, it is understood he would not be tied to playing for England. Indeed it is not inconceivable that he could play for Gatland’s tourists and end up pursuing an international career with New Zealand.
If Pichot’s plan is approved, it remains to be seen how long the grace period would be or if there would be an exemption for players who fall between three and five years. England’s first autumn match is scheduled for 11 November, six months after the world governing body’s vote. If the grace period expires before then, England could have to wait until 2019 before they could pick Solomona.
Jones, who is yet to indicate whether he has considered the player, cannot select Solomona until Sale register him as an England Qualified Player, however. It would be in Sale’s interest - the more EQPs a club has registered the more funding they receive from the RFU – but the registration is also at the player’s discretion. Even though Solomona is not part of England’s 45-man Elite Player Squad named in December, there is enough flexibility in the EPS agreement for him to be picked against Scotland or Ireland.
Nathan Hughes, who has started all three Six Nations matches so far, was the last England player to qualify on residency. The 25-year-old was born in Fiji before moving to New Zealand as a teenager. He completed the three-year residency last June and has been candid over his motivations. “I would love for Fiji to have more resources, but it is the way it is. They just have to deal with it and live on whatever they have got,” Hughes said in November. “There is a big difference and that is why people want to play rugby and how they survive. It is their bread and butter. That’s the decision I made – I play my rugby to support my family and put shelter over their heads.”
Solomona, meanwhile, is at the centre of a legal dispute between Castleford Tigers and Sale. Tigers allege the winger joined Sale without their permission and are seeking damages. A planned hearing set for the high court was adjourned last Thursday.
