Mafi for Ireland?

Al_Fernz

Opinions on the possibility of Lifemi Mafi playing for Ireland please.

He has not been fully capped by NZ and would be granted citizenship in 2011. At this stage he would be 29. Of course we could find him a nice Irish girl in the mean time and shorten this process. Also, this is conditional on the player being interested too.

ATM he would add a lot to the Irish set-up. I know its hard to look 3 years ahead - but I would say that he would still have a lot to offer then too.

Amazotheamazing

Al_Fernz wrote: »

Opinions on the possibility of Lifemi Mafi playing for Ireland please.

He has not been fully capped by NZ and would be granted citizenship in 2011. At this stage he would be 29. Of course we could find him a nice Irish girl in the mean time and shorten this process. Also, this is conditional on the player being interested too.

ATM he would add a lot to the Irish set-up. I know its hard to look 3 years ahead - but I would say that he would still have a lot to offer then too.

He was capped at 7's for NZ so he can't play for Ireland. You're dates are wrong too, he arrived in Ireland 2 years ago this November, so he would have qualified in 2009, not 2011.

Pity he can't qualify, but thems the breaks.

theKramer

I am pretty sure he has been here a couple of years already. He was definitely there last season. I think, but dont quote me that if a player is living in a country for 3 years they can declare for that country.

Podge_irl

He can't qualify.

I wouldn't want him to even if he could.

Inquitus

Given how crap our Irish centres are playing at the moment I'd take anyone.

BO'D - Soso
D'Arce - Brutal
Shaggy - Better on the wing, and needed there.
Trimble - Crap
Paddy Wallace - Muwahahaha now you are having a laugh

Sherifu

If we can sort out the granny story I don't mind.

jdivision

Can anybody clarify the eligibility question. My understanding was that if you played somewhere for three years you could play for their national team regardless of whether you had played for your country of birth.

escobar

Mafi played well for one match . Lets not get ahead of ourselves..
I think we already have the quality although alot of injuries now.... We don't need to import talent unlike some other Northern hemisphere team:)...... He doesn't qualify anyway

marco_polo

jdivision wrote: »

Can anybody clarify the eligibility question. My understanding was that if you played somewhere for three years you could play for their national team regardless of whether you had played for your country of birth.

IRB Rules wrote:

8.1

Subject to Regulation 8.2, a Player may only play for the senior fifteen-aside
National Representative Team, the next senior fifteen-a-side National
Representative Team and the senior National Representative Sevens Team
of the Union of the country in which:
(a) he was born; or
(b) one parent or grandparent was born; or
(c) he has completed thirty six consecutive months of Residence
immediately preceding the time of playing.

8.
2 A Player who has played for the senior fifteen-a-side National
Representative Team or the next senior fifteen-a-side National
Representative Team or the senior National Representative Sevens Team
of a Union is not eligible to play for the senior fifteen-a-side National
Representative Team or the next senior fifteen-a-side National
Representative Team or the senior National Representative Sevens Team
of another Union.

Not eligible if you play 7's or at A level

toomevara

Above post spot-on.Under current rules Mafi cannot play for Ireland. However since regulation 8 was amended in 2000 the pacific nations have been lobbying hard to have it re-examined....

Al_Fernz

toomevara wrote: »

Above post spot-on.Under current rules Mafi cannot play for Ireland. However since regulation 8 was amended in 2000 the pacific nations have been lobbying hard to have it re-examined....

I don't think the Pacific nations have any clout with the IRB so I can't see that changing any time soon.

Interesting replies, Amazotheamazing I was basing the 2011 year on the fact that he would be eligible for Irish citizenship then. I didn't know about the 36 month rule.

I know its a moot point but I think he would have walked into the 6 nations team. Hes had a great season (not just one game) and I'd be inclined to select him ahead of Trimble/Horgan.

Sangre

Yeah he's not eligible, same with Tipoki and Warwick.

These regulations are there for a reason. To keep our team white. Seig Heil!

MikeHoncho

Sangre wrote: »

Yeah he's not eligible, same with Tipoki and Warwick.

These regulations are there for a reason. To keep our team white. Seig Heil!

I just fell off my chair laughing.

Junior

Sangre wrote: »

Yeah he's not eligible, same with Tipoki and Warwick.

These regulations are there for a reason. To keep our team white. Seig Heil!

Surely you mean keep it ginger ...

Crash

A sad remnant of the ciaran fitzgerald era that we're trying to phase out. why do you think gavin duffy has never made the step up? He tried pulling the "strawberry blonde" line a couple of times, never got him very far.

jackbhoy

I'd much prefer it if Munster started playing Keith Earls regularly as he has potential to be a top player (at centre esp) if he's given a chance rather than try and steal some average journeyman from another nation.

Chucky the tree

jackbhoy wrote: »

I'd much prefer it if Munster started playing Keith Earls regularly as he has potential to be a top player (at centre esp) if he's given a chance rather than try and steal some average journeyman from another nation.

journey man? lol

GreenHell

There is a quote from Shaun Payne a week or so ago about him being on the fringes of playing for Ireland, thought it strange Payne saying that for the reasons listed in previous posts.

dc69

Chucky the tree wrote: »

journey man? lol

thats exactly what I would have called him,Tipoki was a recognised name,I had never heard of Mafi before he came over and there seems to be little or nothing about his NZ playing career.

I remember Tipoki playing for the Maoris in the churchill cup before he joined Munster and he was class,I always thought alot of him as a player but I dont rate Mafi anywhere near as hghly.How they found him is beyond me,Im not questioning is skills because he is quite good but he seems like a random acquisition and a journeyman to me.

GreenHell

Journey man tag is very harsh on who is probably one of the form centres on this island at the moment. I wouldn't think he'd be putting in the tackles he has and playing the way he has if he was a journey man, god knows we've had enough blow ins in Munster to know what a real journey man is like.

Amazotheamazing

GreenHell wrote: »

There is a quote from Shaun Payne a week or so ago about him being on the fringes of playing for Ireland, thought it strange Payne saying that for the reasons listed in previous posts.

I'd check the date of the quote.

thehighground

Mafi - Journeyman LOL.

This is what O'Gara had to say a couple of weeks ago about his Kiwi team mates:

"The great thing about it now is that we have a serious back line. You have Rua [Tipoki], who is very experienced and very strong-minded and a father figure, I suppose. He's not afraid to get his views across and that's good because you always need a variety of opinions, especially if it's a local team, which we are. It's good to broaden your horizons and take info from all around the world and, use it or dismiss it, at least we're thinking.

"And then you have Mafi who, we'll say, is inexperienced but who I think has the most potential of all. It's key that we hold on to him because I reckon he could go straight into an All Black team. He's the business, an explosive freak who does some wild things but in the main, he's brilliant, an unbelievable athlete and so powerful. He has a great pass off either hand, good stepper, good defender, it's all there. And then Doug Howlett is amazing, so bright, so intelligent, such a professional."

thehighground

jackbhoy wrote: »

I'd much prefer it if Munster started playing Keith Earls regularly as he has potential to be a top player (at centre esp) if he's given a chance rather than try and steal some average journeyman from another nation.

So, presumably you wouldn't throw a 20 year old first year academy player in against the likes of Contepomi/D'Arcy/BOD - who do you use for those games?

thehighground

GreenHell wrote: »

There is a quote from Shaun Payne a week or so ago about him being on the fringes of playing for Ireland, thought it strange Payne saying that for the reasons listed in previous posts.

Payne's grandmother was from Sligo and he carried an Irish passport. Think he may have got an 'A' Cap. Payne was 29/30 when he came to Munster anyway.

Besides, can you imagine the hissy fits coming out of Leinster if Payne was preferred to Girve?

Amazotheamazing

thehighground wrote: »

Payne's grandmother was from Sligo and he carried an Irish passport. Think he may have got an 'A' Cap. Payne was 29/30 when he came to Munster anyway.

Besides, can you imagine the hissy fits coming out of Leinster if Payne was preferred to Girve?

The quote being referred to is where Payne mentioned Mafi and Ronan were in line for an Irish call-up. It was an April's fool joke on munsterfans.com. A poster simply inserted a false line into an article where the journalist spoke to Payne.

Payne does have an A cap and was called in to the squad for the tour to Sa a few years back. He wasn't capped though.

GreenHell

thehighground wrote: »

Payne's grandmother was from Sligo and he carried an Irish passport. Think he may have got an 'A' Cap. Payne was 29/30 when he came to Munster anyway.

Besides, can you imagine the hissy fits coming out of Leinster if Payne was preferred to Girve?

Ammmm.. it was Payne talking about Mafi..

Amazingoftheamazing... I see