World Rugby has confirmed a change to Regulation 8 which will have a marked effect on the game in the USA.
Regulation 8 deals with how players are eligible to play for a national team. Among the issues it addresses are these:
1. Once you play once for your national 15s team, national 7s team, or a designated national 15s second team (for example, the USA Falcons), you are locked into that national team.
2. You can switch 15s national teams (after a stand-down period) or 7s teams to play in the Olympics (stand-down period might be shortened) as long as you switch to play for a country you were born in or a parent or grandparent was born in. When you switch, however, that's it—you get one switch.
3. You can qualify for a 15s national team through residency.
And it's the residency thing that has changed.
For many years the residency requirement has been that you live in a country for three years. The problem with that is that World Rugby felt three years wasn't long enough. World Rugby also had trouble tracking players. If you/re from Australia and are trying to establish residency in the USA, what happens when you visit your family in Australia for Christmas? If you spend too long outside the USA you can see your residency clock re-set to zero.
So the rule has been changed, and overall it is going to benefit those who move to the USA and want to, eventually, play for the USA.