#2. Patrick Schickerling
- Age: 24
- Position: Prop
- Club: Exeter Chiefs
- Caps: 0
In an interview with the Mail Online, front-rower, Patrick Schickerling revealed he’s eligible to represent England based on residency.
However, according to rugby scribe Bryan Ray, he’s not.
The Exeter Chiefs star claimed in the interview that: “When I arrived in England in 2018, the rule was that you are eligible to play after three years of residency… Two months later, the rule went up to five years.
“I was living in the UK for three years straight and I couldn’t go home because of Covid. That’s why!”
Ray wrote in an interesting Twitter thread:
“November 2018 arrival would put him on track to qualify under the three-year residency rule in November of 2021. The consecutive residency rule, which falls under World Rugby’s Regulation 8, was then extended to five years effective January 1, 2022.”
“Schickerling assumes that because he reached the three-year mark before the change, his eligibility carried over. It does not.”
“In order for Schickerling to keep his England eligibility, he had to have played for England or England ‘A’ between qualifying in November of 2021 and January 1, 2022. He did not.”
Ray concludes by saying: “That means Schickerling falls under the five-year rule. He won’t qualify for England until November of 2023, but remains eligible to represent Namibia.”
Read Ray’s entire Twitter thread by clicking here.