Wales head coach Warren Gatland says that altering the country’s eligibility law is a possibility due to the frustrations around player availability.
Currently, only players who have earned 25 caps or more can feature for the national team if they are plying their trade outside of Wales.
There is also a loophole which allows uncapped overseas-based individuals to be selected but, once their next contract comes up for renewal, they would have to sign for a Welsh region to continue playing internationally.
For example, it is why Exeter Chiefs rookie Immanuel Feyi-Waboso would have been eligible for
in the but club-mate Joe Hawkins was not.
Hawkins made his Test debut in November 2022 but then signed for Exeter after he had been capped by the national side, making him unavailable this season.
With fiscal problems within the Welsh game making it difficult for regions to keep their best talent, believes that it could well be looked at going forward.
“The problem with the 25-cap law at the moment is that there is only one team who gets penalised,” he said.
“If players who haven’t got 25 caps leave Wales we haven’t got an opportunity to select them, so it is always an ongoing discussion.”
There are several issues within the Welsh game, with the governing body looking at various ways they can improve their current situation.
An Anglo-Welsh league has long been suggested and is now getting more support following the financial struggles of the English teams.
Gatland is very much a fan and thinks it could be a success due to the “traditional rivalries” between the respective clubs.
“I’ve always said from a Welsh perspective we should always have an Anglo-Welsh competition on the table,” he said.
“For me that is not about the present, that is about history.
“It’s the history of those clubs like Newport, Cardiff or whatever, playing teams that are pretty close to the border in terms of Gloucester, Bath, and you’ve got Exeter now, so that goes back a long time to those traditional rivalries.
“That is something England and Wales, as unions, should potentially have going forward (an Anglo-Welsh league).
“I know the impact it might have on other competitions, but if we are just looking after ourselves and what would benefit Welsh rugby there could be an Anglo-Welsh league, and that can potentially be successful for England and Wales.”
