and you must be 23 to play for another country because...
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-33595804
And that is why the rules are in place - read the above and weep.
I beg to differ - it's a mindset, an attitude. And NZF have it. This has already been well covered in this thread.
I'm not disagreeing with you on that. I was pointing out (again, as so many others have already) that this debacle is symptomatic of NZF's attitude. Taken to it's extremity the hunger to win at all costs, and accordingly pull in players from anywhere in the world that might help you achieve that, may result in exploitation. And there are victims in this particular war. Ask any NZ u-23 player that was eligible for the tournament how they feel right now. Are they victims of NZF's approach? I'd hanker to guess some feel that they are.