The Ospreys are still waiting on clarification over whether full-back Max Nagy is Welsh-qualified – with an official ruling to World Rugby yet to be requested.
The delay, which has ran throughout most of the season, is down to the need for Nagy to prove he was financially independent when he was a student in Wales.
The Welsh region have been seeking clarity on Nagy’s eligibility since at least last November, with Toby Booth admitting this week the question has been repeatedly asked in that time.
“No, we’ve asked and we’re as interested in the answer as you are,” said Booth on Thursday. “I think that’s not necessarily a rugby thing,
“I think that’s a government thing about where the start date is so you know when the qualification period comes along. But for sure, we’ve repeatedly asked the same question.”
As things stand, nothing has been determined on the 6ft 4ins full-back, who originally hails from Buckinghamshire, with the Ospreys and Welsh Rugby Union still working on the details before approaching World Rugby’s Regulations Committee. Truthfully, that might not matter – with Nagy still set to qualify on residency regardless of his time at university relatively soon.
The confusion lies in whether Nagy’s time at Swansea University, which he started in September 2018, counts towards his residency status. If it did, then Nagy would be free to play for Wales immediately if Warren Gatland wanted him.
If not, then Nagy might have to wait a little longer to be deemed Welsh-qualified – although, if Nagy graduated before December 2021, as he’s understood to have done so, that might just be a matter of months as the residency period was only three years before that date, not five as it is now.
As such, the appeal to World Rugby might not be worth considering at this point. If Nagy was still classed as a student in any way after the extended five-year residency rule came into force in December 2021, he would potentially not be Welsh-qualified until 2027.
The complication in seeking clarity had been the attempts to prove Nagy was financially independent during his time at Swansea University.
World Rugby’s Regulation 8 states that being a student is “likely to be considered as a series of temporary absences from the parental home”, adding that the parental home is “likely to continue to constitute the student’s permanent and primary home”.
However, there “could be circumstances in which a student living in another country may wish to elect to commence a new period of residency in the country in which they are studying, for example where the Player is attending college/university (having reached the age of majority) in the jurisdiction of another Union and has relocated there on a permanent basis”.
In those cases, the relevant Union and player are advised to request a ruling from the Regulations Committee to “ensure compliance in advance of the Player representing the Union”.
As such, since November, the Ospreys and WRU have been looking at ways to prove Nagy had relocated on a permanent basis, rather than just as a temporary absence from home.
Before they would be able to take that to World Rugby, that would require the player providing proof of financial stability and independence – through things like wage slips, bills and rental agreements. Any indication of financial support from parents or elsewhere could hinder the chances of it not being deemed a temporary absence.
With Nagy, the complication would likely have been around whether he was on a full-time contract – with Nagy signing for Swansea RFC in August 2019 while juggling his studies and involvement with the Ospreys academy.
Nagy has recently penned a long-term deal with the Ospreys and people at the region always confident he would qualify one way or another during his time in Swansea.
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