Giteau's law, orthe Giteau law, was the name given to a practice by theAustralian Rugby Union (ARU), later known asRugby Australia (RA), introduced in 2015 to allow overseas-based Australianrugby union players to be eligible to play for theAustralian national rugby union team. The policy change was colloquially named afterMatt Giteau, as the rule was seen primarily to bring him into the Australian side for the2015 Rugby World Cup.[1][2] The initial selection criteria was also dubbed the "60/7 Rule".[3]
In August 2025, following the2025 mid-year rugby union tests, Rugby Australia Director of High Performance Peter Horne stated that the"Giteau law" criteria for national selection was redundant and that the coach,Joe Schmidt, was free to select all eligible Australian players, domestic- or overseas-based.[4][5][6]
| Year(s) | Criteria |
|---|---|
| Apr. 2015–Sep. 2020 | Minimum 60 Test caps for Australia; and seven seasons atSuper Rugby level. |
| Sep. 2020–Feb. 2022 |
|
| Feb. 2022–Aug. 2025 |
|
Before the policy change, players could play for the Australian national rugby union team only if they played for an Australian team in theSuper Rugby competition.
Then-head coachMichael Cheika devisedGiteau's Law to enable key overseas-based players to be eligible for selection for the2015 Rugby World Cup. In April 2015, the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) announced this new arrangement.[1] The rule also allows players to return to Test duty immediately if they have signed with aSuper Rugby club for the following two years.[7]
In 2020, Rugby Australia approved an amendment to Giteau's Law that allowed up to two overseas-based players to be selected, regardless of the total overseas-based players in the squad, that did not meet the original criteria to be selected.[8][9]
In February 2022 further amendments were made to theGiteau Law. The new amendments would lower the original rule (sixty test caps for Australia and a minimum of seven seasons at Super rugby level) to thirty test caps and five years at Super Rugby level, respectively. However, the new amendment only allowed for three overseas-based players to be selected.[10][11] Just five months after new amendments to the policy, coachDave Rennie urgedRugby Australia (RA) to expand the overseas-based player policy to four.[12][13]
Assistant national coachStephen Larkham said the rule enabled the Australian world cup squad to benefit from more experienced players. He said ""It's not just a team that's a little bit older and therefore more experienced (but) we've got the right number of experienced guys, the right number of older guys and the right number of younger enthusiastic guys."[14]
TheNew Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) Chief ExecutiveSteve Tew said he would not implement such a rule for theNew Zealand national team, stating: "[New Zealand] didn't often follow Australia".[15]
Following the 2015 Rugby World Cup, head coach Michael Cheika hoped as much as 85% of the squad would be available for the2019 Rugby World Cup, including players available under Giteau's Law.[16]
Just over 12 months out from the2015 Rugby World Cup, Australian forwardKane Douglas, who was playing forIrish clubLeinster, praised the restrictive selection policy for the national team in place at the time, despite the potential of missing selection.[17] In an interview with theAustralian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Douglas stated, "they've [ARU] got to be strong on their stance and encourage boys to stay and play in Australia and for Australia."[17] In 2015, Douglas was released from his contract with Leinster,[18] signed a three-year contract with theQueensland Reds,[19] and was selected in theAustralia squad for the2015 Rugby World Cup.[20]
Upon the announcement ofGiteau's law, Australian Rugby Union chief executive Bill Pulver stated: "This is a pivotal moment forRugby in Australia, where for the first time in its professional history, the ARU will allow overseas-based players who have made a significant contribution to Australian Rugby to become eligible for the Wallabies."[21]
