Former England number 8 Nathan Hughes has declared himself available for Fiji for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
When asked if he’d be open to swapping nations, he told Rugby Pass: “Yes, 100 per cent,”
He added: “I’m just focusing purely on Black Rams and just playing as well as I can and letting the selectors do their job.
“The coaches and their staff are all in Europe at the moment and I’m not sure when they will be coming to Japan. We’ll wait until the day comes.
“If he picks me, we will make the decision then, but we have got two more games to go (at Black Rams) and we are trying to finish as high as we can up the table and go from there.”
“Could still swap nations” – Four more England stars who could play against Steve Borthwick’s side at the World Cup
The latest eligibility laws by World Rugby have created a possibility for several renowned England players to represent a different country from their initial capped one, both in the present and upcoming years.
These new regulations state that players can meet the transfer qualification criteria by abstaining from Test rugby for three years and being either born in the country they want to represent or have a parent or grandparent who was born there.
This change could result in several English players changing their national allegiances in time for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
Although some players are more likely to do so than others, here we discuss five players who could potentially switch.
#1. ALEX LOZOWSKI – TO ITALY
Number of caps: 5
Lozowski, who has an Italian grandmother, could take advantage of the new World Rugby rules surrounding eligibility.
The Saracens star, who won the last of his six England caps in 2018, could swap with immediate effect following the rule change and has been approached by Italy boss Kieran Crowley.
He’s also been in contact with Italian qualified speedsters Louis Lynagh and Paulo Odogowu, who are both currently uncapped.
“I have been in contact. I haven’t personally been in contact with Paolo but he has been contacted,” Crowley said at the Six Nations launch.
“The other two [Lozowski and Lynagh] I have spoken to personally. They have made decisions at the moment that I respect. I support them. I’ll keep in contact with them. But certainly if they were available, we’d certainly be looking at them. They are all quality players.
“We will keep the lines of communication open. Not only with those three but there are a number of others as well.”
