ENGLAND V NEW ZEALAND: Steve Devine has been cleared to play for New Zealand by the International Rugby Board (IRB) despite playing sevens for Australia in 1998.

Under explicit IRB regulations, any player who has represented one country in sevens is ineligible to play for another, but the New Zealand Rugby Football Union have received special dispensation from the IRB.

Outhalf Devine was picked in the All Blacks' squad for their European Tour, which starts on Saturday with a match against England at Twickenham, after a strong season with Auckland in the National Provincial Championship.

However, it emerged last Friday that Devine had represented Australia, his country of birth, in a sevens tournament in Dubai in 1998. Under the IRB's Regulation 8.2, if a player has appeared for a Test team, an A-team, or the national sevens team, he is not eligible to play for another country.

The New Zealand RFU then acknowledged Devine was ineligible after checking his background, but requested the special dispensation. The IRB yesterday agreed and he will play against England this weekend if selected.

According to a statement from the IRB, Devine believed the teams involved in the sevens tournament in Dubai did not constitute the senior or next senior national representative team for the purposes of international status and eligibility under the relevant regulation at the time of the tournament.

It states that prior to the tournament, inquiries made by Devine confirmed his eligibility would not be affected, having already committed himself to New Zealand. The ruling was clarified in 2000 and explicitly stated that playing for one's national sevens team counted towards eligibility, regardless of when it had occurred.

Devine would not have played in the tournament had he been aware it would compromise his availability, the IRB statement said. "Eligibility cases of this nature are subject to individual assessment based on their specific facts," the statement said.

It included non-specific examples of similar rulings with Samoan, Australian, Canadian and Hong Kong players. So the All Blacks, who were only informed of the problem upon arrival in Britain last Saturday, can now continue with their preparations with their full squad intact.

Newcastle hooker Steve Brotherstone has withdrawn from the Scotland squad to face Romania after injuring a knee in the defeat by London Irish on Sunday, and will be replaced in the squad by Steve Scott.

Italy coach John Kirwan has called up four new players - centre Alejandro Canale, prop Roberto Pin and wingers Paul Robertson and Scott Palmer - to his training squad ahead of matches against Argentina and Australia later this month.