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Kiwis looking at mid-cycle spells
Tony Smith
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Remember when the four-yearly All Blacks exodus began after the rugby World Cup? Now the lemming-like lurch to the northern hemisphere is starting months before the tournament kicks off.
Aaron Mauger has already confirmed a lucrative move to Leicester. Now Chris Jack has two million good reasons to switch his allegiance from the cash-strapped Tasman Makos to the lucre-laden London club Saracens.
Good on Mauger for making his intentions known early.
There was a time when transfer deals were secret-squirrel affairs in which more sidesteps occurred off the field than on it. It usually involved players strenuously denying rumours of a big contract in Blighty, France or Japan while their noses grew to the length of Pinocchio's proboscis.
Post-World Cup defections were traditionally headed by All Blacks in their international twilight, veterans bent - as a former Crusader once said - on wringing every last cent from their bodies.
But Mauger, at 26, is still very much in his prime.
Jack will be 29 by the time the World Cup kicks off, but could conceivably still be around for the next one in New Zealand in 2011. He'll be 33 then - the same age as Martin Johnson when the Leicester lock led England to World Cup glory in 2003.
Byron Kelleher, at 30 the All Blacks' oldest back but still one of the world's best halfbacks, should be a sitter for an offer from a European club.
But senior forwards Anton Oliver and Reuben Thorne are likely to end their careers in New Zealand.
Don't be surprised, though, to see more youngish All Blacks tempted by sabbaticals such as Mauger's.
Hurricanes Piri Weepu and Ma'a Nonu have both made no secret of their love of league. Weepu has trained already with the Newcastle Knights and would be a target for NRL clubs looking for a dummy-half distributor.
If the league torch burns brightly, then post-World Cup would be the ideal time for union aspirants to give the rival code a go.
Broncos forward Thorn made a successful switch from rugby league Kangaroo to rugby union All Black to fulfil a boyhood dream.
It's conceivable that a current All Black could take the reverse route across the Tasman. What a drawcard Jerry Collins would be, coming off the Warriors bench to spell Ruben Wiki and Steven Price.
The NZRU may come under more pressure from players and agents to approve short-term releases similar to Tana Umaga's tenure at French second division club Toulon.
Robbie Deans will doubtless disagree, but it might be in the New Zealand rugby's longer-term interest to allow a superstar like Dan Carter some respite from the Super 14 grind to ensure he's still on deck in the No. 10 jersey at the 2011 World Cup.
In terms of talent, Carter should be that tournament's poster boy.
But if the All Blacks win the Webb Ellis Trophy in Paris this October, the 25-year-old will have won everything on offer in New Zealand rugby.
A mid-career mental refresher - a season of European Cup action at a club like Perpignan - might be just what the doctor ordered if it meant the All Blacks winning a second World Cup on New Zealand soil.
The Press
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