Switching allegiances? Carl Fearns on the burst for Lyon

The thought of Carl Fearns becoming a surrogate Frenchman fills me with dread. This is not so much because the Lyon-based Liverpudlian is a formidable back row forward who could enhance France’s clout going into the 2019 World Cup, but because it is another instance of rank mismanagement by World Rugby.
The governing body of the global game have trumpeted the introduction of their revised five-year residency rule as if somehow it is the game’s knight in shining armour addressing an obvious injustice. The fact that the i...