Sean McMahon and Samu Kerevi may not yet be lost to Australian rugby, with the governing body set to review their eligibility laws ahead of the July series against Ireland.

The Rugby Australia board will soon be presented with different arguments on the worth of the current eligibility laws.

At present, only those playing in Super Rugby or have played 60 or more Tests and given seven years of service playing in Australia can be eligible to play for the Wallabies.

The overseas component to eligibility came on the eve of the 2015 Rugby World, with then-coach Michael Cheika hellbent on having French-based duo Matt Giteau and Drew Mitchell available for selection.

Both men had played more than 60 caps and given more than seven-years of service in Australian rugby and the eligibility changes became dubbed as the ‘Giteau Law’.

But the shortcomings in Australian rugby in recent years and the lure of richer deals overseas have meant that RA is considering tweaking the 60-cap, seven-year service eligibility rule.

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Australia centre Samu Kerevi is tackled during the 2019 Rugby World Cup quarterfinal. Source: AFP

While RA is concerned that loosening the laws in the same way South Africa did in the lead up to their World Cup triumph could lead to a mass exodus from Super Rugby, they are aware that one of the reasons why the Springboks won their third Webb Ellis Cup was because they could pick from outside their own borders.

Eight members from the Springboks’ 31-man squad were picked despite playing overseas, with starters Faf de Klerk, Cheslin Kolbe, Willie le Roux and Franco Mostert among the high quality group plying their trades in foreign competitions around the world.

That number has expanded to 15 in 2020, with the likes of fly-half Handre Pollard, hooker Malcolm Marx, No.8 Duane Vermeulen and locks RG Snyman and Lood de Jager among the many to have left Super Rugby.

Given the relatively high number to have left Australian rugby too including Wallabies starters Kerevi, Rory Arnold and Tolu Latu, the fear is that loosening the laws will encourage even more to go.

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Matt Giteau of Australia goes over to score during the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Source: Getty Images

Some within RA are arguing that that service period should be reduced to five years, while the number of Test caps required also halved.

Another school of thought is that the 60-cap marker shouldn’t be given as much weight given injuries or a high quality player might stand in their way, but that the seven-year service component to the law should be kept.

For instance, Greg Holmes, who added to his 13 caps in 2015 after eight years in the international wilderness, wasn’t eligible after the World Cup in the UK after signing with Exeter despite playing for more than a decade with the Queensland Reds.

The other factor at play is that because young stars are bursting on the scene at an increasingly younger age, the fear is that a five-year service could mean that Rugby Australia doesn’t get the benefit of seeing a player find their feet on the world stage.

Reds young gun Jordan Petaia is the perfect example.

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Petaia made his Super Rugby debut in 2018, but missed the majority of the 2019 season with the Reds because of an injury and unfortunately yet again the teen sensation suffered another season-ending injury ahead of his side’s fourth match of the year in Argentina.

As such, in only another two years, Petaia will have already reached the five-year service period and could leave Australian rugby as a 22-year-old.

While he could still play for the Wallabies, Rugby Australia wouldn’t be able to reap the benefits despite putting a lot of investment in the exciting back.

On top of that, the emergence of Hunter Paisami – a relatively unknown quantity that the Rebels tried to get off their books in 2018 – shows that the pathways system is alive in Australian rugby.

A change to the eligibility laws in the coming months could see the likes of McMahon and Kerevi, who have both played in various formats of rugby in Australia for more than five years, become available.

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That would be a huge boost to new coach Dave Rennie’s Wallabies’ chances against Ireland, where world rankings are vital ahead of the 2023 World Cup draw.

Regardless of whether this occurs, leading RA officials are adamant that changes to the laws won’t be made on individual case-by-case matters and any further rule changes reflect that unlike the dubbed ‘Giteau-Law’.

They also are emphatic in their view that they want players in Australian rugby for the right reasons and that if money is the main priority, they should follow it.

RA is intent on continuing to sign their emerging talent and if that means farewelling one or two ready-made or proven Test players, it’s a price some officials are willing to make as they want to wrap up as many teenagers as possible to lead Australian rugby forward.