Rules on eligibility for England selection are set to be relaxed as a result of crisis in Gallagher Premiership
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London Irish players forced to take up contracts overseas following their clubs’ suspension from the Gallagher Premiership will remain eligible for England until the end of the 2023/24 season.
According to RUCK sources, there is also talk that an extension could be given to Wasps and Worcester players, who were forced to find new employment when their clubs went bust in late 2022.
This would offer England flanker Jack Willis hope as he was set to be barred from playing for England after the 2023 Rugby World Cup due to his contract extension with Toulouse.
In October, the Professional Game Board, comprising Premiership Rugby and the Rugby Football Union, announced that if a club were to enter administration or cease operations, any English-qualified players who subsequently join an overseas club would be considered eligible for selection. The RFU referred to these circumstances as “exceptional.”
The most recent instance of England including players based in France in a World Cup squad dates back to 2011.
During that time, Jonny Wilkinson, Simon Shaw (both from Toulon), and Tom Palmer (Stade Francais) were all called up to represent the team in the tournament held in New Zealand.
Where London Irish players are going:
Saracens: Ollie Hoskins, Will Joseph, Ben Loader
Loader:
Loader’s rise through the ranks with London Irish continues to go from strength to strength.
The winger made his Irish debut in the 2017/18 season, before going on to establish himself in the Exiles’ 2018/19 Championship winning team.
He made 18 appearances in the second tier, scoring 13 tries in the process, as Declan Kidney’s side clinched an instant return to the Gallagher Premiership.
Those impressive performances earned him a call-up to the England XV squad to take on the Barbarians in June 2019, and he continued his upward surge in 2019/20, helping secure top-flight rugby for the 2020/21 season.
Loader’s form stayed consistent in the 2020/21 campaign, with the winger scoring seven times in 18 outings in the green jersey.
After a positive start to the 2021/22 season, Loader injured himself in the process of scoring one of Irish’s tries in their maiden win of the campaign away to Exeter Chiefs.
The talented winger demonstrated strong resilience to come back from what proved to be a knee ligament injury to score three tries in nine appearances for Irish in a disrupted year for Loader.
Hoskins
Australian prop Ollie Hoskins joined London Irish from Western Force in the build up to the 2016/17 season.
Hoskins played 24 times for Irish during the 2016/17 season, including an outing in the Championship Play-off Final.
Following a string of great performances in the 2017/18 Aviva Premiership campaign, Hoskins has continued to show his importance to the Irish squad.
His consistently high standard of performances in a London Irish shirt led to Ollie becoming a London Irish centurion, passing the 100-appearance mark for the Club in the 2020/21 season.
In the 2021/22 season, Hoskins played in 25 of Irish’s games across three competitions, opening the season with a brace away to Worcester Warriors and then scoring in an important win over Edinburgh Rugby in the EPCR Challenge Cup pool stages.
He had the 18th most attacking ruck arrivals in the 2021/22 Gallagher Premiership (351) and joint 25th most carries (159), ranking him in the top five and top three amongst props in the division respectively.
The proud Australian earned his first cap for his country in the 2021 autumn internationals when the Wallabies visited Twickenham Stadium.
Hoskins signed a contract extension with the club in the offseason preceding the 2022/23 season and is on course to surpass 150 appearances in the following campaign.
Joseph
Joseph, who plays in the centres, has been capped at under-18s level with England and played for Berkshire at county level.
Will made both his European and Premiership debut during the 2020/21 campaign, impressing hugely but injury kept him from kicking on in a consistent run of games that year.
Upon his return, nonetheless, Joseph set the 2021/22 season alight, making his first under-20s start for England in the 2022 Under 20 Six Nations as well as eight more appearances in green.
He scored his first try for the Exiles in a home win in the Round of 16 of the EPCR Challenge Cup against Castres Olympique, racing away from his own 22 metre line and over the whitewash.
Joseph also helped Irish in the semi-final of the Premiership Rugby Cup against Leicester Tigers with his second try, intercepting on halfway for a clear run at the try line.
His powerful running style and versatility caught the eye of Eddie Jones and saw him included in several England training camps towards the conclusion of the 2021/22 campaign, building up to being one of two inclusions in the touring squad to Australia in July 2022.
More players leaving London Irish on page two.