Boots and all | IRB must quickly tackle Olympic eligibility rule
The IOC requires players to hold passports of the countries they represent and several teams may be weakened by this rule
The International Rugby Board must be lauded for giving countries plenty of chances to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics, but one major question remains unanswered - who is eligible to play?
With next season's IRB Sevens World Series being part of the Olympic qualifiers, will teams only be able to field players who have the passport of the country they wish to represent per International Olympic Committee rules?
Or will the IRB's more relaxed three-year eligibility rule still be the rule of thumb, at least until teams get to Rio?
If Hong Kong are to play in three or four legs with a team under IOC eligibility guidelines, it would be a difficult task
Even New Zealand sevens supremo Gordon Tietjens was taken aback when these questions were posed to him. He admitted he hadn't given it any thought and said the All Blacks Sevens might be affected with a couple of players holding Fijian passports.
Let's hope the IRB has given this serious thought. But the most obvious answer would be if it is an Olympic qualifier, one would expect teams to only field players who have a passport.
As far as Hong Kong is concerned, it will be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, if the passport-only rule is enforced, it could see arch-rivals Japan unable to field their legion of Pacific islanders - they have five in the team who will run out today. Yet, at the same time we have a number of players without SAR passports.
When the IRB announced the qualifying process last month, the first reaction from the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union was the best path to the Olympics would be through "Asia" - winning the regional qualifiers.
Let's back-track a bit and explain how the 12 men's teams to Rio 2016 will be unearthed. Brazil as hosts gain an automatic spot. The remaining 11 berths will be filled by the top four nations from next season's IRB Sevens World Series, the winners from each of the six IRB regional competitions, and one from a world play-off.