Southern stars shine in their adopted skies

TWO more recruits from what used to be the British Empire take up residence this week in Scotland’s training squad. Anton Bressler arrives via Windhoek and Durban; Phil Burleigh from further afield in Christchurch.

The Edinburgh pair are the latest ‘project players’ to graduate to the national squad, products of an assembly line still rolling after the best part of 30 years. Sean Lineen’s pioneering conversion from New Zealand to Scotland in 1989 set a trend which has changed the shape, and sound, of Test rugby in these islands.

Everyone else piled in. When Wales under Graham Henry couldn’t wait for the residential rule to run its three-year qualifying course, they played the ancestry card and exploited the naivety of the International Board who took them at their word.

Claims that two Kiwis, Shane Howarth and Brett Sinkinson, had Welsh grandfathers proved bogus. That Wales have not capped any of their ‘project’ players has less to do with ‘Grannygate’ and more to do with their Southern Hemisphere imports not being up to the job at Test level.

So many have found alternative international careers as bona fide members of the Six Nations that it is not difficult to pick an entire team of current players composed of nomadic Kiwis and Junior Springboks. Had Mouritz Botha not been forced to retire a few months ago, it would have been possible to name a complete alternative team.

SIX NATIONS’ NZ-SA TEAM: Jared Payne (I); Denny Solomona (E), Nick Grigg (S), Brad Barritt (E), Sean Maitland (S); Phil Burleigh (S), Grayson Hart (S); Rodney Ah You (I), Richardt Strauss (I), Willem Nel (S); Quinn Roux (I), Anton Bressler (S); Sean Reidy (I), Teimana Harrison (E), Josh Strauss (S).

Subs (from): Scott Spedding (F), Nick Abendanon (E), Nick Grigg (S), Ben Te’o (E), Greig Tonks (S), Kelly Haimona (It), Rory Kockott (F), Alan Dell (S), Michael Bent (I), Uini Atonio (F), Ben Toolis (S), John Hardie (S), Blair Cowan (S), Hugh Blake (S), Dave Denton (S), Bernard Le Roux (F), Thomas Waldrom (E), Cornell du Preez (S), Braam Steyn (It), Dries van Schalkwyk (It).