International rugby has undergone a fundamental change over the last couple of years, with the sport's new eligibility laws meaning that quite a few players have now lined for multiple nations at test level.
The rule change has allowed players who have previously been capped by one country, but have gone over three years without making an appearance for that team, to switch to another nation for which they are eligible.
There have been quite a few high profile switches under this rule.
Jean Kleyn has been perhaps the most significant one in this country, with the Munster player surprisingly lining out for his native South Africa in last year's Rugby World Cup after his last Ireland cap came in 2019. Nations such as Tonga have also benefitted heavily from the rule as they brought in a number of players that had previously lined out for Australia and New Zealand.
For an Irish perspective, it seems as though another one of our internationals is hoping to benefit from this rule by linking up with a Six Nations rival.
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Ireland rugby star hoping to make international switch
The Irish Mirror are reporting that Leinster's Rhys Ruddock is hoping to be selected by Wales, with the player's last Ireland cap coming in 2021. He will be eligible to make the switch later this year.
The 33-year old has earned an impressive 27 caps for Ireland at test level, although he has never quite managed to nail down a consistent place in the side after making his debut back in 2010.
Ruddock is eligible to play for Wales through his father Mike, who hails from the country and coached them to Six Nations glory in 2005. He also spent quite a bit of time in the country during his youth and even previously represented them at U18 level.
Speaking to the Irish Mirror, Mike Ruddock admitted his son would be keen to link up with the Wales squad in the near future.
It’s not for me to tell Wales who to select, but purely as a father I would love to see him pull on a red jersey.
It’s where he grew up as a rugby player, he played for Wales U18s before his life took a different turn and I’m sure he would add a huge amount of experience and leadership qualities to that squad.
I think a lot of people would love to see him back playing his rugby in Wales again.
Wales' selection policy usually sees them only select overseas based stars if those players have earned more than 25 caps for the nation at test level, meaning it is uncertain if Rhys Ruddock would be considered. However, they might make an exception on this occasion considering that the back row would be committing to the team at a latter stage of his career.
Considering the current state of the Welsh squad, bringing on board a player of his experience would make quite a bit of sense. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out over the coming months.
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