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Two of Ireland’s most successful project players will be eligible to play for Joe Schmidt’s side by the time the 2018 Six Nations rolls around.
Connacht’s Bundee Aki and Munster’s Tyler Bleyendaal could both be lining out in green when Ireland look to win their first Six Nations title since 2015.
What a sight this would be https://t.co/b5SKtdSSKq
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) April 6, 2017
The eligibility rules surrounding project players is a contentious one.
World Rugby are set to vote on the issue in May, whereby the period of residency required could be extended from three to five years.
This would please the opponents of the rule who believe there should be more commitment shown before a player can play for a particular country.
This rule will not apply to Bleyendaal and Aki, however, their three-year stint will remain valid, regardless of the outcome of May’s vote.
Over the coming month, the duo can expect a flurry of questions surrounding their ambition to represent Ireland and Aki got the full brunt of that from TV3’s Sinead Kissane.
Bundee Aki on possibility of playing for Ireland. More on 3 News at 5.30 pic.twitter.com/1YjmJLmvG9
— Sinéad Kissane (@sineadkissane) April 12, 2017
Kissane interviewed Aki where she repeatedly asked the 27-year-old if he wanted to play for Ireland.
“If Joe Schmidt calls you up though, will you say yes?”
“Any other professional footballer wants to play international but I’m just here to play for Connacht at the moment and like I said, my first jobs first is to play for Connacht.”
“Do you want to play international rugby for Ireland?”
“I want to play international rugby, that’s what my main goal is, every kids’ dream is to play international rugby…”
“Is that with Ireland?”
“I just need to focus on this week, that’s all I can say really. I can’t really say much about it because it’s not really time to think about that.”
Aki is coy to say the least.
It’s curious that when Aki first signed for Connacht, he made no secret of his desire to play for Ireland.
Now in recent times, he has become increasingly tight-lipped and withdrawn with regards to his international ambitions.
Perhaps the Auckland-born centre has had a change of heart during the past season.
One thing is for sure, he can fully expect to be quizzed on this topic over the coming months.
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