Rugby Australia will not make any major changes to the Giteau Law as Eddie Jones begins preparing to take charge of the Wallabies.
Quade Cooper Photo: PHOTOSPORT
With Jones landing in Australia at the weekend after his shock appointment last week, RA chairman Hamish McLennan has revealed the Giteau Law, which allows a certain number overseas-based players to be selected for the Wallabies, will not be tweaked ahead of this year's World Cup.
"We're not going to destroy the Giteau Rule at all," McLennan told the ABC.
"It's there for a reason. We've made a commitment to New Zealand and Super Rugby. We have a new competition that will go through to 2030 so we are thinking long term.
"RA have to do a better job over the long term in sorting those pathways out, but there's some very good players out there.
"We need to get more players back from overseas. [The Giteau Law] isn't something, in a wholesale sense, we want to play with too much when we look at it for this year and beyond.
"But we've definitely got great players. We really believe we can give the World Cup a shake this year."
The Giteau Law was introduced in the lead-up to the 2015 World Cup and has undergone several amendments in the years since.
Currently, any player based overseas who has accrued 30 or more Test caps or five seasons at Super Rugby can be selected.
Up to three overseas-based players can be picked in a squad for a tournament or series.
The rule has allowed players like Quade Cooper, Bernard Foley, Samu Kerevi and Will Skelton to continue to play for their country despite leaving Super Rugby.
All four players are certain to feature in Jones's plans for Australia's World Cup tilt, but McLennan is also expecting Jones to bring through a new generation of talent and use his vast experience to mould them into stars.
"I think you'll see a different way of selecting the team," McLennan said.
"He'll give more younger guys a go, I expect, so it will be a really interesting ride to watch.
"Certainly, with coaching, you get better with age. That experienced is earnt over time and he knows how to accelerate plans and to make the right decisions.
"He's there because he's the world's best rugby coach and we've got him.
"The very fact that he can garner more attention for the sport, we're happy about that, but he's there to get the Wallabies firing."
-ABC