Just watched Rabbitos vs Raiders (cracking display by Raiders & their two Englishmen btw; woeful display by Rabbitohs & their two Englishmen).

During commentary one of the guys said the rumour is that Blake Austin could well be playing for England this autumn, as he qualifies apparently. Two thoughts:

1) would we want an Aussie playing at 6 for us (as it stands, our current 6 has never played top grade RL in England)? The question may be moot as he may decide that he will wait to see if the Aussies come calling.

2) Austin is an absolute cracker & takes the line on (something very few do nowadays). He would be in my top 3 or 4 half backs currently playing (all in NRL unfortunately).

in what way does he qualify?

he is a fine player and if he really wants to throw his hat in the ring foregoing the chance to play origin, I'm all for it. doesn't stop the Aussies with the South sea islanders so why should it us?

Don't know how he qualifies, pretty sure he's played for Portugal before.

Cracking player, Mot sure if he's an international player though. In terms of whether I'd want him if he's put his hand up, maybe more than others named mainly because he's younger, hasn't really been capped (Portugal doesn't count really) and would be turning his back on other opportunities that mig by come his way which might at least mean he's committed to the cause.

Cracking player. Get him in.

The namesh Aushtin, Blake Aushtin.

If he declares for England and says he doesn't want to play for Aus or NSW then no problem, as long as he qualifies.

However if he is only playing because the new rules say he can still play for NSW and Aus if they pick him next year then no thanks.

Is he eligible?

Is he better than any of the other alternatives in his position?

If the answer to both is yes, then get him in. Stuff the little Englanders.

I read the other week that he's got an English grandparent. The article was about him being eligible and asking if he was interested. The main thing was that just with the Morris twins, Bennett hadn't actually spoken to him.

Although he's a bit up and down, at his best he's a far better attacking prospect than Widdopp, but not as good a defender.

I don't think think many people would have such a problem if the eligibility rules hadn't been changed.

For all we know he identifies as english, but we need some conformation of this.

What happens if we pick him, but next year he decides he wants to play origin and so makes himself eligible for Australia and NSW instead?
The England team and England RL in general wouldn't live it down, and we would be confirmed as the Aus B team

Who cares? Seriously?

Do people slag off Tonga, Fiji and Samoa as "Australia/New Zealand B"? Of course they don't.

You play by the rules of the game. If the rules of the game allow you to fight with both hands, why would you tie one behind your back? They don't hand out trophies for moral victories.

Much to the dismay of Shaun Wane

If they beat Australia when it counts, so long as they were eligible I wouldn't care if the whole team were called Bruce and wore cork hats on the field. Making international RL a big event won't come from insisting everyone was born and bred within 10 miles of the M62 but from England being competitive. Being honest, nobody outside core RL supporters would know that the Morris twins, Austin, Hodkinson and co aren't pureblood English, and they'd care even less.

The idea that fans are so obsessed with narrow definitions of nationality drives me nuts. As far as I'm concerned Wayne Bennett has been tasked with making England a genuine top tier team. If he thinks that's only possible with a few plastic poms then sobeit.

When is the last time any of those teams beat Australia or NZ?
I certainly can't remember it happening

That is because the players form Aus DO teat it like a B team, and whenever they are good enough to play for Aus or even play origin they stop playing for Samoa/Fiji etc. see Milford recently
Do you want England to be on the same level and in the same situation as these teams?