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ARU rules out swoop on Storm
JOSH RAKIC
May 2, 2010
WALLABIES high-performance manager David Nucifora has put paid to speculation the Australian Rugby Union is breaking the bank to secure NRL star Israel Folau and said the Wallabies were not chasing Billy Slater or any other Storm player.
Nucifora laughed off suggestions the ARU had tabled top-ups to the value of $700,000 a year for Folau and Slater, labelling the talk as ''unfounded speculation''. ''There is no player, I can guarantee, who is on that kind of money from the ARU,'' he said.
''We're not actively pursuing any rugby league players, including Billy Slater or any of the other Melbourne Storm players - or any other league players. It's not on our agenda to be doing that and again it's really just unfounded speculation that's been fuelled by what has gone on down in Melbourne with the Storm. It's certainly not our plan to offer ARU top-ups to any Melbourne Storm players.''
He said the ARU did not instigate the pursuit of Folau, revealing that the governing body had offered only a modest top-up as a favour to the Melbourne Rebels and it only weighed in after the new franchise declared its interest.
''We didn't go out and actively pursue Israel,'' Nucifora told The Sun-Herald. ''He wasn't on our list of things to do. We acknowledge he's a good league player and a good athlete but this is mainly about trying to help Melbourne get set up.
''We've done a deal with Melbourne we're happy with - we understand their reasons as to why they want Israel Folau to play for them: his [prominence] down there. That makes sense. He'd be a good figurehead to get rugby up and running … given his association with the Melbourne Storm and it all makes sense. So it'll be good for them if they do manage to get him.
''And if it pays dividends nationally down the track, well that's great, too. But we'll have to wait and see; he's the one that has to make the decision.''
Folau's ARU top-up is understood to be just $100,000, while proven convert Mark Gasnier's top-up is believed be about $200,000 - validation the ARU is serious about not luring rugby league players with massive contracts, as stated six weeks ago.
''If it's about money, then players are probably coming to the wrong place,'' Nucifora said.
Gasnier met with his French club Stade Francais yesterday and has until May 15 to decide whether to sign a lucrative deal with the club or return to Australia and play Super rugby.
The 28-year-old is on holiday and his manager, George Mimis, said no decision would be made until at least the end of next week. He said speculation Gasnier had already committed to the Rebels was ''absolute rubbish''.
Nucifora said: ''If Mark decides he wants to come back to Australia, play rugby and try his hand at Super rugby and see if he's good enough to be a Wallaby, then he'll come here and it won't be an issue of money … But with any of these things, usually the longer it goes on the less likely it is of happening.''
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/un...0501-u04u.html