February 1951: The Australian Rugby League insisted brothers, Ron and Reg Stanford were subject to an international transfer ban, even though they most recently had played rugby union. The Stanford boys travelled to England to play for Rochdale Hornets, but it proved a futile trip. “Having made a convenience of rugby union (where they were reinstated after a stint in league), they signed to play league in England,” reported one newspaper of the day. “In registration, if not in spirit, the Stanfords, when they signed with Rochdale, were union players. The League insisted that, as they had played league before their brief switch of loyalties, they were subject to the ban.”
Shades of Sonny Bill Williams.