Nathan Hughes© Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images

The eligibility rules allowing a number of southern hemisphere-born players to qualify for European nations are set to be reviewed by World Rugby.

The current rules allow players who have not been capped at 'A' level or above to qualify for any nation in which they have lived for three years or more. The rules have seen an influx of players qualifying for Six Nations teams from the southern hemisphere.

According to the Daily Telegraph, the governing body are set to review regulations that allow players like Wasps' Fijian-born, New Zealand-qualified No.8 Nathan Hughes to play for England after the World Cup later this year. Hughes also qualifies for Samoa due to his mother but has declined to play for any of the three nations he is eligible for in a bid to represent England when he fulfils the residency rules in June 2016.

World Rugby chief executive Brett Gosper admitted a review of the rules may be on the way to preserve the integrity of the international game.

"When that [the residency rule] was determined, I don't think there was quite the flow of players in international movement that it's become in recent years, through Europe and Japan, and so on," Gosper told Fairfax Media. "I know that [World Rugby] president [Bernard] Lapasset has indicated that this may be something we need to look at again in the future, and look at whether the three-year residency is enough to ensure that integrity of the international game, so that may be something that may need to be looked at.

"You want to preserve the specialness of the international game and therefore while club sides are gathering all-stars from around the world, and top international players, I think there is a feeling that there has to be some steps taken to ensure that the profile of the national team has that integrity."