The NRL multicultural round has seen plenty of players address their heritage with another Australian-born forward declaring an intent to represent England at this year’s World Cup.
Meanwhile, a member of Australia’s Ashes squad has also spoken on his English roots as he remains eligible to represent England as he is still yet to receive a cap for the Kangaroos.
Cronulla Sharks hooker Blayke Brailey was named in Australia’s travelling squad for the Ashes, however, he did not play meaning he still could opt to represent the country of his mother, which is England.
Speaking ahead of multicultural round, Brailey told NRL.com that he is proud of his English heritage but that for now, he intends to represent Australia.
He said: “A proud part of me is English and to be able to represent my mum and her side one day would be amazing. For the meantime, I’ve got my eyes on the green and gold and being back in that Kangaroos touring squad.
“To play for Australia has been a dream of mine for so long and to be on that tour was a good taste of that. I want more of it now, it lit the fire in the belly to get back there.”
As the rules stand at the moment, players cannot alternate between Tier One nations in the men’s game, meaning should Brailey be capped by either England or Australia, then he could not play for the other.
Wests Tigers forward puts name forward for England selecton
Whilst Brailey appears likely to shun England, one man who has declared his interest in playing for them at the upcoming World Cup is Wests Tigers forward Alex Seyfarth.
Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald ahead of multicultural round, he revealed his intent to represent England, for whom he qualifies due to his mother being born in Bradford.
“If I can play some good football and put my name in the ring and get a chance to tour with them, that’d be awesome, representing that side of my family,” he said, going on to claim that it would ‘mean the world’ to him with his granddad a ‘very proud Englishman’.
He added: “Same with my mum. They came out here just for a better life at the time, and they’re still always wanting to get back to get back there whenever they can. If I do ever get the opportunity, yeah, I’ll be extremely proud to put the jersey on.”
As it stands, England still don’t have a head coach though talks are expected to ramp up in the coming weeks after the RFL Council meets to ratify proposed personnel changes.
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