Rhys Carre’s sensational move to Saracens has raised a number of questions.
One is how such a huge talent has been lost to Welsh rugby.
And another is whether it will prevent him from playing for Wales.
Well, the answer to the second question appears to be no.
The WRU selection policy is that exiles can only be picked for Test duty if they have 60 caps to their name.
So, on the face of it, that would appear to rule out the uncapped Cardiff Blues prop, who will join Sarries at the end of this season.
But the fact that he is uncapped actually works to his advantage in this instance.
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Players only become impacted by the 60-cap rule once they have been selected in a senior Wales squad.
Cardiffian Carre has represented his country at U18s and U20s level, but is yet to get the call to the senior set-up.
As such, he won’t be captured by the rule and would be available for selection for Wales during the term of his Saracens contract.
Once he were to be called up, then the situation would change slightly.
It would mean that when the loosehead powerhouse signs his next contract he would have to return home to Wales to play Test rugby.
I hope that makes sense!
As for how he has been lost to the regional game, well it appears Project Reset has played a significant part on that front.
The Blues were very keen to keep the 6ft 3ins, 20st 10lbs front rower and were ready to offer him a new contract early last autumn.
But they had to put that on hold because of the uncertainty over budgets amid the discussions on the future of the regional game in Wales.
That delay meant other teams could target Carre and English champions Saracens stepped in.
When the Blues became aware of this, they responded by making him an improved offer, while incoming Wales coach Wayne Pivac also met with the 21-year-old in a bid to keep him on home soil.
But, by then, the big ball carrying prop had decided to join the English champions.
