John Cooney's potential Scotland switch fires up a Twitter debate

Ex-Scotland scrum-half Chris Cusiter has questioned the idea that John Cooney, the out-of-favour Ireland No9, is considering a change in allegiance and declaring for the land of his father in time for next year’s World Cup in France.

The 32-year-old Dubliner won the last of his eleven Ireland Test caps in February 2020 and with the three-year standdown period required to change national team allegiance now just months away from being fulfilled, the Ulster player has claimed he has a big decision to make.

In an interview for the Ulster Rugby Show on BBC Northern Ireland, Cooney explained: "I'll make the decision on my own terms and whatever I feel is right for me. Half of my family live in Scotland and my dad's a proud Scotsman. I have to make sure everything is right with me with Ulster in terms of the contract and stuff like that.

"I have seen people commenting - I can see other people's perception of it but they are generally people who have no connection or affiliation to another country. I can see both sides of the conversation but I won't be listening outside. Either way, I know my dad would be immensely proud if I did play (for Scotland)."

This 'Cooney for Scotland' scenario quickly caught the eye of Cusiter on social media. “Cracking player but I would be properly annoyed if a 32/33-year-old was brought in ahead of me and I was a young Scottish scrum-half,” he commented on Twitter.

“However, as a fan, if he came off the bench and kicked the winning penalty against Ireland in the World Cup then I think my opinion could be changed. It’s not so much about that (though partly given his age) but the emotional connection and ambition to play for Scotland. Can’t blame him if he’s eligible and gets picked but I’m just not sure I’d agree with it.”

Cooney isn’t the first Test No9 to generate headlines in recent months about a potential change in allegiance. Tawera Kerr-Barlow, the 2015 All Blacks World Cup winner, previously spoke about his desire to play for Australia, the country where he was born before going to second-level school as a teenager in New Zealand.