Aaron Cruden reveals the lure of provincial rugby: 'Ngans actually sent me a message to ask me about playing Mitre 10 for Manawatu'
There will be a tremendous roar when Super Rugby Aotearoa kicks off in mid-June after what will have been a three month wait without rugby in New Zealand.
That roar may be confined to fans’ homes, with live audiences unlikely at least for the early stages of the competition, but with Super Rugby finally back on the menu, there’ll be plenty more ammunition for watercooler chats across the country – though they may also be conducted through an online medium.
Creating a new competition hasn’t been an easy task for New Zealand Rugby with so many stakeholders to consult on the process and even once the idea was formulated, there were a few hurdles for the nation’s five Super Rugby clubs.
The Chiefs ran into one major hurdle – having returned from France, first five Aaron Cruden was only contracted to the side until June.
Although nothing’s been confirmed, Cruden is expected to head to Japan for next season’s Top League. Re-negotiating terms could cause a few headaches because Cruden’s future side wouldn’t want the marquee player to arrive injured – which becomes more probable when his final game with the Chiefs is pushed out further in the calendar.
Thankfully, the deal was sorted and Cruden is free to lace up the boots for the Chiefs until the end of the new season in August.
What remains uncertain is the playmaker’s plans for later in the year, with Cruden not initially signing a contract tying him to a provincial union for the Mitre 10 Cup season.
“Ngans [Ngani Laumape] actually sent me a message to ask me about playing Mitre 10 for Manawatu,” Cruden told RugbyPass.
“At this stage, we’re not really sure, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens with any rugby and what that sort of framework looks like and then we’ll just go from there.”
That was prior to the new competition’s confirmation and the 31-year-old may feel that re-committing to Super Rugby is enough to quench his rugby thirst for 2020 but there will be certain aspects of returning to Manawatu that must appeal massively to Cruden – especially if all the All Blacks are involved.
“The ability to play with world-class players like Ngani is always appealing, especially when you go back to your province where you grew up,” he said.
“For me, Manawatu were the ones who gave me my first opportunity in the professional game and I’ll always be extremely thankful for them. The green and white still have a jersey at home here so I’m certainly very proud of those roots.”
The 2020 edition of the Mitre 10 Cup is due to kick off in early September – one month after the original planned start date.
While fixtures aren’t yet available for the competition, expectations are that it will follow the same format as in previous years with split divisions, although outgoing Taranaki Rugby chairman Lindsay Thompson has suggested that some teams may not be able to take part given the financial hits the unions have taken due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Assuming all goes ahead as planned, fans would likely see some players suiting up for provincial rugby for the first time in a number of years, with top All Blacks rarely being employed by their provinces.
Scott and Jordie Barrett, who were both originally contracted to Canterbury, changed allegiance back to their local Taranaki in recent seasons but neither has actually had the opportunity to don the amber and black hoops.
Others like Aaron Smith and Sam Whitelock accrued plenty of caps for their provincial sides early in their careers but haven’t played a Mitre 10 Cup game for a long time.
Big things were expected of the Chiefs' 10 in France but the reality was disappointing. Still, no one would question the ability of the playmaker now that he's back in NZ. @TomVinicombe spoke with Aaron Cruden about his return. #SuperRugby #AllBlacks https://t.co/57nyavRSqb
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) May 10, 2020
For Cruden in particular, who has been away from New Zealand for the past two seasons, a return to Manawatu for the Mitre 10 Cup would also allow the pivot to spend plenty of time with his family and possibly play with his younger brother too.
“Stuart, my younger brother, made his debut for Manawatu last season in the Mitre 10 Cup and is just coming through the ranks there so he was hoping to push for an Under 20s spot this year,” Cruden said. “I’m sure he’s obviously putting his head down and still training hard like the rest of us.”
The Under 20s competition has been called off for 2020, which means New Zealand’s upcoming talent will have to earn selection in a provincial side if they want to get any high-level rugby under their belt this season.
For Aaron Cruden, however, 2020 will be his sign-off from New Zealand rugby – regardless of whether he links up with Manawatu – and he’ll be doing his part to help guide the Chiefs to their first Super Rugby title since 2013.
Comments on RugbyPass
A wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
11 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
11 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
24 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
10 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
17 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to comments