Joe Hawkins: Exeter centre returning to Wales to join Scarlets
The Welsh Rugby League (WRU) reached an agreement with four professional teams in Wales, and in 2017, a ruling that people who play rugby outside Wales must have 60 hats to represent their country, a figure that fell to 25 in February 2023.
The rule was originally intended to make Wales’ top players listed as “Gatland’s Law”, although former Welsh head coach Warren Gatland insisted that he never agreed to the policy.
Hawkins made his debut in Wales under 20 at the age of 17 and made his debut against Australia in November 2022.
He plays five international matches, with Gatland choosing him for all of the matches in one of the six countries in 2023.
Amid huge cost cuts in Wales’ professional area in 2022-23, Hawkins set out from Osprey to Exeter, meaning he became ineligible for international selections.
As a result, Hawkins missed the 2023 World Cup in France and the two six-nation campaigns.
