West Ham footballer Declan Rice has decided to commit his future to England, ending long-running speculation about his international allegiance.
The 20-year-old announced his decision on his Twitter account.
— Declan Rice (@_DeclanRice) February 13, 2019
Rice played three international friendlies for the Republic of Ireland in 2018, having qualified through his Irish grandparents, and had previously represented the country at underage level.
As he had never featured in a senior competitive game for Ireland, he was free to change his allegiance to England, where he was born.
Is it surprising that Rice has chosen England over Ireland? And can anyone really blame him?
Kieran Cunningham, chief sportswriter with the Irish Daily Star, joined us to discuss this.
