England revealed as the home of the rugby poacherGETTY IMAGES Ben Te'o was born in New Zealand but now plays his rugby for England. Seventeen of those players moved to the country for the sole purpose of playing rugby. To further explain the difference, 25.4 per cent of English debutants over the past 12 years were born outside England, and 13.5 per cent of debutants moved to England for rugby reasons. Nine New Zealand-born players debuted for England in that time period, with Wellington-born Mako Vunipola the only player to have moved to England for family, rather than rugby reasons. By contrast, captain Hartley moved to England as a teenager with the goal of becoming an England international.

Source: Stuff March 04, 2017 16:01 UTC