The grandfather rule, in sports which usually only permit participants to play for the team of their country of birth, is an exception which gives participants the option to play for the country of any of their ancestors up to the grandparents. Despite the common name for the rule, grandparents of either sex can be invoked equally and it is sometimes referred to as the grandparent rule or the granny rule. Examples Rugby league In rugby league, the RLIF reiterated in 2008 that a player may represent a country if it is their country, or the country of their parents or any of their grandparents' birth. Rugby union In rugby union, regulation 8.1 of World Rugby stipulates that: a Player may only play for the [Team] (...) of the country with which the Player has a genuine, close, credible and established national link in which: (a) he was born; or (b) one parent or grandparent was born; or (...) The term "grandparent" was at one time defined to include only blood grandparents, even for individuals who were legally adopted. However, World Rugby's current interpretation of its regulations accounts for cases in which a player, or his or her blood parent, was adopted: Unless a Player has been adopted in accordance with the formal, legal requirements of the country concerned, the application of this criterion will be based on a Player’s blood parent. When a Player has been formally adopted in accordance with the applicable legal requirements of the country concerned, the birth place of the Player’s blood parent will no longer be relevant for the purposes of establishing the Player’s eligibility pursuant to Regulation 8.1(b). The relevant parent will be the parent that has formally and legally adopted the Player. In such circumstances, the relevant grandparents for the purposes of establishing a Player’s eligibility pursuant to Regulation 8.1(b) will be the Player’s adoptive rather than blood grandparents. It is not possible under Regulation 8.1(b) to assume eligibility via blood grandparents if a Player has been formally and legally adopted. In the event that one of the Player’s blood parents has been adopted, the relevant grandparents for the purpose of establishing that Player’s eligibility pursuant to Regulation 8.1(b) will be the Player’s blood parent’s adoptive parents. The term “parent” in the Regulations is limited to either a blood parent or a parent that has formally adopted a Player in accordance with