CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT
The genius NRL analysts at Fox Sports have this week revealed that they are less concerned by NRL stars deciding to play for European nations in the Rugby League World Cup.
After boring NRL fans to tears with thinly-veiled xenophobia directed at Polynesian footballers wanting to play for the country their parents migrated from, the likes of Paul Kent and Buzz Rothfield have suddenly shut the fuck up – for the first time ever.
This comes as notably not-Polynesian Sydney Roosters star Victor Radley reveals that he is prepared to turn his back on Australia and a future State of Origin jersey to represent his father’s home country of England at the end of season World Cup.
Radley, whose dad is so English that he has one of those Fully Monty accents, reportedly met with England coach Shaun Wane during his recent trip to Australia and RFL officials. This week, the Roosters forward has confirmed that he declared his eligibility and determination to press for inclusion in the pommy World Cup squad.
Like the Polynesian athletes that decide to lend their talents to their homelands of Tonga and Samoa, Radley will provide a much-needed boost to the game on an international scale.
However, his decision to play for England is an inconvenient development in world cup selections, and one that has frustrated the one match sensation that is Paul Kent, who spent all of last week pretending to be outraged by this bizarre concept of ‘multiculturalism’ in the NRL.
The post-Origin culture wars commentary surrounding the decision made by NSW Star Brian To’o to play for Samoa in the world cup, has not extended to Radley, and likely won’t be an issue for the swathes of NRL stars who decide to play for the Mediterranean nations because one of their grandparents worked on the Snowy River Scheme.
The shiraz-soaked commentators NRL 360 has not even bothered questioning the decisions of proud Lebanese-Australian footballers, because everyone knows that the Cedars represent the beating heart of international rugby league.
