Open player market in S14 opposed in NZ

[Flamethrower]

Open player market in S14 opposed in NZ
Tuesday, 05 February 2008
Open player market in S14 opposed in NZ - New Zealand's source for sport, rugby, cricket & league news on Stuff.co.nz


The free player market in the Super 14 rugby competition, suggested by Crusaders coach Robbie Deans, won't happen for at least three years, New Zealand Rugby Union chief executive Steve Tew has said.


And even if there were moves to introduce it after Sanzar's current broadcast contract with its sponsor, there was likely to be strong opposition in New Zealand, as the competition was seen as crucial to player development and the success of the All Blacks.

Tew said the Super 14 may have a very different look after the end of Sanzar's current contract, which had another three seasons to run, but New Zealand's situation was vastly different to Australia's.

Unlike Australia, New Zealand had a strong domestic competition largely responsible for player development, he said.

The Super 14 bridged New Zealand players' development between domestic and international rugby.

New Wallabies coach Robbie Deans suggested an open player market in the Super 14 yesterday.

Australia were also looking for a two-round Super 14 instead of one round.

Former All Blacks coach Laurie Mains backed Tew, saying New Zealand Super 14 teams should be for New Zealand players.

"I personally believe that the Super 14 should be for New Zealand players and the development of New Zealand players to make stronger All Blacks teams," Mains said.

Tew said several other changes, such as an introduction of a Pacific Island team and Argentina's inclusion, had been talked about by Sanzar.

"We've said all along that at the end of this broadcasting contract, which is three years away, Super rugby may well look very different to the way it looks a now," he told Radio Sport.

"We've discussed in previous years whether it would be worth bringing some of northern hemisphere stars in (to the Super 14).

"Our view currently, and this is the way we have operated - we want to have as many New Zealand eligible players in the competition as we can because these are the guys we choose the All Blacks from and ultimately we want to be able to pick the most competitive All Blacks side we possibly can.

"We have had the odd overseas player play here. We clearly have a more liberal view right now than the Australians do on Pacific Island players, for example."

Tew said expanding the Super 14 would affect their international calendar.

"South Africa and New Zealand have very strong domestic competitions, the Aussies have really struggled to get a domestic competition going," he said.

"They have just recently canned their own version of the Air New Zealand Cup, so they want more rugby.

"Arguably we would probably like a little bit less, but we've got to make sure it's the right rugby that attract us to the fans, is enjoyable and appropriate for our players and to their development."

The NZRU also have a strong policy of picking All Blacks from players who are playing in New Zealand only.

"We do hold concerns that if we started picking All Blacks from outside of New Zealand then our own domestic competition, the Air New Zealand Cup, which many observers would argue as being the foundation for the success of the All Blacks over a long period of time would be seriously threatened. It would be a very big call."

Mains said the Air NZ Cup has always been the foundation of New Zealand first class rugby and disagreed with suggestions that it was losing its strength, citing Hawke's Bay's success as an example.

Deans said an open market would create more interest in the Super 14.

"Our market is not as big and we don't have the same ability to generate revenue as they have in the northern hemisphere and we are suffering at the hands of the northern hemisphere, in terms of player drain," he said.

"We have to find a way of catering for the players' professional needs in the southern hemisphere.

"The only way to do that is to expand the professional window, that's the only way we can compete in the global market."

-NZPA

[innocent quokka]

New Zealand teams for NZ players only? So Fiji is actually New Zealand?

[Flamethrower]

Yeah. There's South Island, North Island, Further North Island, North North East Island and That Island That's A Long Long Way Away. There's more to New Zealand than people realize

[gustafsl]

Wouldn't NZ benefit from this?

Let's say there is a shortage of scrum halves in Australia, and there is this young NZ kid who can't get a starting position with one of the NZ Super 14 teams, wouldn't he, and NZ, benefit by coming over and getting a starting job with one of the Australian teams? Or is it better off that he spends 60 or 70 minutes a night sitting on the bench just so he can develop in NZ? I would imagine that once he was good enough to get a starting job in NZ he would head right back over there.

[GIGS20]

This would be OK if the player was ineligible for the AllBlacks until he returned to a NZ team. That would have the advantage of developing young player talent without watering down the rivalry between the national sides. It'd keep All Blacks in Newzealand (at least as well as they do now) and they would pick their sides from players of as high quality as they do now.

It'll mean difficulties though for teams like the Junior All Blacks, who are NZ reps, but not allblacks....train on groups, and NZRU contracted junior players who have not yet made the national side.....Lots of questions to answer, I'm sure at least on of the knock on effects of allowing an All Black to play for the would be undesirable!

Stick to non-3N players for international eligibility (like South Africa and New Zealand do)

[AndyS]

Frankly, I am surprised they are against it as I'd see them as the big winner. It is our players that would suffer - if a team has a spot on their list, are they going to pick the Aussie lad playing amateur club level and spend two years developing him or pick a Kiwi boy already playing at a professional level in the AirNZ cup?

I'd actually see the kiwis encouraging their All Blacks to play in Aus or SA - the NZRFU are struggling for money and their ABs are the biggest cost item. But once capped, they also can't play for anyone else. So NZ export their senior players, keep their developing players at home, decide they are not interested in Australian players (or more likely, can't afford them with NZ pesos) and the end result is they have an even bigger pool of S14 players to pick from - good call by the ARU that!

[gustafsl]

I doubt the NZ public would put up with having a majority of their favourite AB's playing in Aus and SA because they have already had a NZ cap and therefore are not a risk to play for another country.

[AndyS]

Maybe, but they can be hard to predict. A lot of people I've met over there just view the S14 as a knock-around comp and around Waikato they often used to get bigger crowds for the NPC...I don't know how the ANZ cup is being received.

[GIGS20]

Frankly, I am surprised they are against it as I'd see them as the big winner. It is our players that would suffer

I think they're probably against it because they don't need it and we do...they get plenty of talent from PI nations, who somehow claim eligibility for the All Blacks! we only seem to PPI players who were born here or moved in their infancy!