Brough seeks England switch

World Cup captain plans to turn his back on Scotland

Last updated: 6th February 2009   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Brough seeks England switch

Brough: Ends Scotland career

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Scotland captain Danny Brough has decided to switch allegiances and pursue a career with the England national team.

The Wakefield scrum-half, who was born in England, has told Scotland head coach Steve McCormack he will not be available to play in the European Nations Cup this autumn.

But rules brought in on the eve of the 2008 World Cup, to prevent players switching allegiances at will, state that he will not be eligible to play for England until the end of 2010.

Brough led Scotland to a famous win against Fiji in the 2008 World Cup but his team were comfortably beaten by France and Samoa in the same competition.

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The 26-year-old said that a desire to play against the world's elite teams was the reason behind his decision.

"I'll be putting myself forward to play for England," Brough told Rugby League World.

"If you want to be the best you have to play against the best and that's Australia and New Zealand. If I stick with Scotland, I won't get the chance to play against these nations."

Brough was grateful for the chance to play for Scotland but believes the disbanding of the Great Britain team has denied players from outside England the opportunity to take on the powers from Down Under.

"I've spoken to Steve about it and he understands. He gave me my chance to play for Scotland as a National League Two player when I was at York," he added.

"Things have changed since then, though. They've done away with the Great Britain team which means that, if you want to play against Australia and New Zealand on a regular basis, you have to put your hand up to play for England.

"It's a no-brainer really."

Brough's decision comes as a major blow to the Rugby Football League, who disbanded the Great Britain team before the World Cup in order to help Wales, Ireland and Scotland develop their own identities.

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