Bristol Bears centre Benhard Janse van Rensburg will not be able to qualify for England on residency grounds, according to reports.
The Premiership star has been tipped to make an immediate jump into the England squad when he qualifies for the 2025/26 season after being a standout performer in the league, starring for London Irish and now Bristol.
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However, Janse van Rensburg will be blocked from changing international allegiances from South Africa after representing the U20s back in 2016.
His 20-minute cameo for the Junior Springboks is set to deny him from pulling on the white jersey of England, according to Rapport.
It’s a similar case to that of Exeter Chiefs star Jacques Vermeulen who has been outspoken about his situation.
“It’s very frustrating,” Vermeulen told BBC Radio Devon last year.
“I don’t know why they’re stopping it because how can they say when you were 19 or 20 years old now you’re capped for a country, but you played for the Under-20s.”
He added: “I get really angry about it because I’m like, how can you stop a guy after they played 10 years ago for a country.”
Vermeulen played for the U20s in 2014 and 2015, the latter year being when the U20s were the designated second team of South Africa after the Springboks, which tied players’ international allegiance.
According to Rapport, World Rugby have clarified that no player who played for the SA U20s in 2015, 2016 and 2017 may ever play for another country.
Unless of course they qualify through regulation 8.6, the birthright transfer. This states that a player “who has represented one Union (as set out in Regulation 8.2 to 8.4) may apply to represent a new Union provided that:
(i) the Player meets the eligibility criteria set out in Regulation 8.1(a) or 8.1(b) in relation to the new Union; and
(ii) at least three years have passed since the Player last represented their former Union; and (iii) the approval of World Rugby is obtained”
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No regrets
This means that Vermeulen and Janse van Rensburg will never be eligible for England, but a player like Tyrone Green who played for South Africa U20s in 2018 can.
Janse van Rensburg told the publication that his agency is attempting to resolve that matter with World Rugby but the centre says that he has no regrets even if he is never able to play Test rugby.
“I’m just having fun playing rugby and trying to be the best I can be,” he said.
“If I can’t play [for England], it is what it is. If I can play and I have the chance to play international rugby, that would be great.
“For me, it doesn’t change where I am at the moment. If I never play Test rugby and I look back on my career, I will still be incredibly happy with what I have achieved.”
He added that when he got the call for the U20s, he “would never say no” even though it was just for 20 minutes.
Janse van Rensburg and Vermeulen are not the only players who will be tied to South Africa with Juarno Augustus, Ernst van Rhyn, Jeremy Ward and Hanro Liebenberg also playing for the U20s during that period.
Despite his excellent form in England for several seasons now, Janse van Rensburg has yet to catch the eye of the Springboks coaching team.
Rassie Erasmus has invited a plethora of young centres for his first alignment camps this year while also inviting a host of overseas-based players for a virtual camp which did not include the Bristol star.
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/england-dealt-hammer-blow-as-springboks-snub-will-not-qualify-for-selection-despite-meeting-residency-requirements
