Eligibility Rules Impede Vermeulen’s England Ambitions

Exeter forward Jacques Vermeulen, who has made 87 appearances for the club since his arrival in the summer of 2019, has voiced his frustration regarding his ineligibility to represent England. The 29-year-old South African, who joined Exeter six years ago from the then-Super Rugby team Sharks, was part of the Chiefs squad that secured a Premiership and European double in 2020. While Vermeulen meets the five-year residency requirement and is pursuing British citizenship, his participation in the 2015 Junior World Cup for South Africa renders him ineligible, as that team was classified as the nation’s second side. Current regulations stipulate that players can only switch international allegiance if they were born in the desired country or have parents or grandparents born there, criteria that Vermeulen does not meet. Speaking to BBC Radio Devon, Vermeulen stated, “It’s very frustrating,” adding, “I don’t know why they’re stopping it because how can they say when you were 19 or 20 years old now you’re capped for a country, but you played for the Under-20s.” Vermeulen expressed further frustration when observing other South African players with comparable international experience representing different countries. He remarked, “I don’t think they can still keep you underneath that because if you go – look how many guys are playing for Scotland that were playing for Junior Bocks, guys like Duhan van der Merwe, Pierre Schoeman, like there’s so many guys.” He continued, “I get really angry about it because I’m like, how can you stop a guy after they played 10 years ago for a country.” Shifting focus to on-field matters, Vermeulen indicated his belief that Exeter is experiencing a turnaround following a challenging start to the Premiership season, during which they lost all six of their league fixtures. The team secured victories in all three of their Premiership Rugby Cup matches and is scheduled to play league leaders Bath on Saturday. Subsequently, they will travel to Durban to compete against Vermeulen’s former club, Sharks, in the European Champions Cup. He expressed his anticipation, stating, “I am really excited. I played for them for three years, had a lovely three years with them as well.” Vermeulen added, “My rugby career really kicked off there, I played some of my best rugby for them before I came here to the Chiefs and it’s really exciting for me to show the boys around.” He also noted, “All the lads in the squad has been asking ‘how is Durban?’ and I can’t say enough good things about Durban because it’s such a beautiful place to go to.”