REGULATION 8 EXPLANATORY GUIDELINES such case will be to ensure that there remains a close, credible and established link with the country in which the Player claims to have retained his primary and permanent home. There could be circumstances in which a student living in another country may be deemed to have interrupted his Residency period. 19. Who is responsible for compliance with the eligibility criteria? In accordance with Regulation 2.1.2, each Union is responsible for ensuring compliance with all Regulations Relating to the Game This includes, but is obviously not limited to, Regulation 8. Accordingly, it is the responsibility of each Union to ensure that all Players it selects are properly eligible within the provisions of Regulation 8 and, in the event of any uncertainty, to ensure that the position is clarified before the Player is selected. Unions must have in place all necessary procedures and internal controls to ensure compliance with the eligibility Regulations. 20. What must Unions do to ensure (and demonstrate) compliance with the eligibility Regulations? Unions must ensure that before a Player is selected for the first time for its senior or next senior fifteen-a-side National Representative Team or its senior National Representative Sevens Team the Player completes the standard form declaration attached to these Explanatory Guidelines at Schedule 1. In addition, before selecting a Player, Unions must ensure that they obtain valid/authentic documentation and such other evidence that may be necessary to prove, definitively, a Player’s eligibility to play for that Union. Each Union must notify World Rugby of the names of all Player’s selected for its senior and next senior National Representative Team and its senior National Representative Sevens Team on an annual basis. World Rugby shall maintain a database of all such Players. If requested, by the Chairman, or his designee, Unions must supply copies of the completed declaration forms of a Player(s) together with supporting documentation relied on to demonstrate the Player’s eligibility. On 1 December each year, each Union must certify to World Rugby that each Player selected to represent the senior or next senior fifteen-a-side National Representative Team of the Union or its National Representative Sevens Team during the past year has completed, in full, the declaration form and that each Player was eligible to represent the Union in accordance with the provisions of Regulation 8. World Rugby may, through the Chairman, or his designee, of his own motion or on receipt of a complaint undertake an investigation into a Union’s compliance with Regulation 8. Unions, Players and officials must provide assistance with any such investigation and disclose such information and documents deemed necessary by the Chairman, or his designee, for the purposes of that investigation. Last update: 14 January, 2015 145
World Rugby Handbook
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