The 60 cap minimum added to the seven years of contract commitment to the ARU means that only 'elite' internationals can qualify under this. Players such as Giteau, Adam
Ashley-Cooper and Drew Mitchell warrant this ruling and it is far from damaging to Australian Rugby, rather enhancing.
However, the other side of this ruling has reared its ugly face with the ARU adopting an aggressive and sometimes disrespectful approach to securing potential Wallabies playing abroad who do not qualify for selection.
The Kane Douglas example is important to examine to understand what exactly the ARU have been up to. The player signed a three-year contract with Leinster Rugby and is leaving to return to Australia just one season into this deal.
Michael Cheika made no secret of that fact that the ARU wanted him back, even calling him up and stating that he wanted him to return to Australia in press conferences. The pressure he and the ARU put on the situation was reminiscent of a last minute Premier league transfer window deal.
Leinster eventually agreed to release the player for a fee rumoured to be in the region of €160,000. While Douglas reached underwhelming form at best during his tenure at the RDS he remained a quality player in an important position for them, especially in Devin Toner's absence during the Rugby World Cup.
The Quade Cooper scandal which rages on is another example of this change in the ARU's actions. The facts are that Cooper signed a contract with Toulon, shook Boudjellal's hand and posed for a photograph - he committed to being a Toulon player.
Now, Cooper has signed a four-year deal with the ARU which includes spending 2016 on the 7's circuit and potentially a the Olympic games.
Boudjellal has made his opinion clear in the media as he vehemently condemned Cooper's actions while also threatening to sue the fly-half and the ARU for lost revenue. Boudjellal included the sale of merchandise in this which has the potential to be far past the reach of a release fee if one was included in his contract with Toulon.
He said, ''They are speaking to a player who they know has signed. So there is collusion there and I might sue the Australian federation to ensure our rights are respected....If Cooper doesn't come, the compensation will be in millions of euros.''*
This prompted the ARU's General Manager, Rod Clarke to come out and state that the ARU will not be paying any compensation to Toulon and that this responsibility lies with Cooper. The rumours have provided $200,000(Australian Dollars) as the compensation figure included in his contract.
More than likely Boudjellal is using scare tactics to get Cooper to follow his contractual obligations and sign for Toulon, however Cooper's actions are deplorable and for once it seems that Toulon have done no wrong and have been treated very poorly themselves.
In both cases, Douglas and Cooper, the ARU has clearly had a big role to play while firmly retaining that if they dangle the carrot and a contracted player goes for it then they have done nothing wrong in the situation. Rugby has long been a sport where transfer fees are rare and players move clubs when they have finished their contracts. That is something to be proud of, specifically when you compare the meaningless contracts in professional Football. The ARU have annoyed Toulon, Leinster and the IRFU in just the last month - their actions have been unacceptable. However, it is undeniable that it will make teams think twice before signing Australian internationals again and that ladies and gentlemen must be the goal of this aggressive and ignorant approach to things that the ARU has adopted. Their tactics are ridiculous, disgraceful and shouldn't be part of the sport for any club, let alone one of the largest nations. World Rugby needs to intervene in some aspects of these events. The Douglas situation was dealt with in a way which ultimately suited both parties, however poor the way this came about. The Cooper saga is another issue altogether.
*Source: Planet Rugby
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