Lesley Vainikolo has become the latest player to show that where you are born and which country you represent need not be one and the same thing after the Tongan-born former New Zealand rugby league wing was selected in England's Six Nations rugby union squad.
For years there has been a steady stream of rugby talent flowing from the Pacific Islands to New Zealand and Australia.
But European nations haven't been averse to drawing in players from overseas either with prop forward Matt Stevens, born in South Africa, also included by coach Brian Ashton in his Six Nations party.
PHOTO: AP
League players moving to union since the latter went professional in the 1990s has also become an increasingly common practice.
And the evidence suggests that it is wings and fullbacks who are most likely to make a successful switch.
England will certainly hope Vainikolo can make a similar impact to that of cross-code back-three great Jason Robinson, their lone try-scorer in the 2003 World Cup final win over Australia, who retired following the team's defeat by South Africa in last year's final in Paris.
Vainikolo, now of Gloucester, has played just nine senior club union games since his pre-season arrival from English rugby league giants Bradford but his nine tries make him the leading scorer in the Premiership.
Ashton was in no doubt about the value of having the 28-year-old Vainikolo on board after the powerful 1.88m and 114kg flyer scored 149 tries in 152 games for the Bradford Bulls in the Super League.
"It has not quite been a seamless transition, but it has not been far off. He doesn't look like a league player playing union. He's powerful but he's a good footballer with good footwork and he hasn't been caught out defensively," Ashton said.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
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