Irish Rugby's Latest Foreign Legion

Rugby supporters this writer included have often privately sneered at the lack of impact football at grass roots level has on the fortunes of the Irish national football team.
The more than occasional mercenary pulling on the green jersey for career reasons rather than any reliving of a childhood dream has generally been seen as fair game when putting down Robbie Keane and his band of merry men. These November international's will see those silent sneers turn full circle as a man who prior to two weeks ago had never set foot in Ireland or in all likelihood thought about playing for Ireland.
    Having played professionally in New Zealand's ITM cup as well as the Super 15 Michael Bent is now viewed as something of a saviour for Ireland's tighthead void given the manner in which he has been parachuted into the squad. For as long as most supporters can remember tighthead has been a one international class player position for Ireland as it is now with 33 year old Mike Ross. Bringing Bent into the fold prior to playing for his provincial team may seem a desperate move however in truth Ireland's other fit number three's have already been given plenty of opportunities to prove their ability and have so far failed with the possible exception of John Andress of Worcester Warriors who has played regularly this season.
    The drawbacks of the decision relate to the message it send's to amateur coaches around Ireland focused on producing Ireland's next tighthead. There are already 8 non-Irish props playing professionally in Ireland and this will be seen as a further blow to those Irish players still hoping for provincial game time in the position. Of course on the flip side Kidney by selecting Bent is sending out a message that what is available to him in Ireland currently isn't good enough and he will take radical decisions in pusuit of a higher world ranking.
     To be fair Ireland as a rugby nation has plenty of credit to use in the area of naturalizing players and the grandparent rule when compared to other European countries notably England and Scotland. Worryingly enough though the IRFU's website contains an Irish Exiles section that states the unions interest in players who have played professional rugby and qualify for Ireland even though they may not have come through the Irish rugby system. As I've stated above the decision to play Bent as a standalone case is justifiable. To allow it to set a precedent for further players with similar backgrounds is what might not be acceptable to the Irish rugby public and may ultimately affect the marketability of the team.