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Chiefs' big signing foreshadows a bigger problem for New Zealand
The recruitment of a 34-year-old prop from Ireland might have raised a few eyebrows in New Zealand this weekend.
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John Ryan, who has accumulated 24 international caps to go along with his 201 for Munster, has been brought into the Chiefs squad as a like-for-like replacement for injured prop All Black Ta’avao.
It’s an excellent bit of business by coach Clayton McMillan and will ensure the Chiefs aren’t found wanting at scrum time.
With Ta’avao out for the season, Atunaisa Moli is the most experienced tighthead option in the original squad but his recent form has been patchy, with frustrating injuries plaguing his career ever since the 2019 Rugby World Cup. George Dyer is the other option and while he didn’t look out of place throughout 2022, next season will mark his first as a fully contracted Super Rugby player.
And while Ryan will bring a huge amount of experience and nous to the Chiefs front row, whether recruiting a foreign replacement is the best thing for the longevity of rugby in New Zealand is a different matter altogether – but a decision that’s effectively been forced upon McMillan and any other Kiwi coaches who will also have to navigate injuries when the season kicks off.
Moana Pasifika’s introduction this season put significant pressure on NZ’s playing resources, especially with Covid wreaking havoc throughout the year.
The other factor, which appears to have increased in magnitude for next season, is the growing draw of Major League Rugby.
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Perhaps it’s the fact that Japan Rugby League One have tightened up their restrictions on international imports, but the MLR sides have been on a massive recruitment push over the past six months and every few days it seems that another New Zealand player on the cusp of Super Rugby selection has decided to head over to America for the upcoming season.
The likes of Mitch Jacobson, Kurt Baker, Luke Campbell, Tom Franklin, Jordan Trainor, Tom Florence, Dan Pryor, Isaac Ross, Jason Emery, Brendon O’Connor, Richard Judd, Jayson Potroz and All Blacks legend Ma’a Nonu are just some of the more well-known Kiwis who will feature in the upcoming MLR season – men who mostly either missed out on Super Rugby contracts or probably knew they weren’t going to be in the selection frame even if they had put up their hand. They might not be world beaters, but they’re strong supporting players who in seasons gone by would have been called upon when injuries struck during Super Rugby.
The list of Kiwi front-rowers plying their trade in Major League Rugby is growing too, with lesser-known figures such as Henry Bell, Tevita Langi, Jarred Adams, Gene Symington, Isaac Salmon, Joel Hintz, Ben Strang, Kyle Stewart and Nic Souchon all signed for MLR franchises in 2023.
While Covid isn’t expected to cause quite as many issues in 2023, injuries are an inevitable part of the game and when Super Rugby clubs come calling as the season draws on, the cupboards are going to be relatively bare even of semi-experienced provincial players.
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The impact is especially sizeable in the front row, where props and hookers require years of technical training before they’re ready to face off with international-level scrummagers.
So while Ryan’s signing will be a boon for the Chiefs and would have been hailed as such five or 10 years ago when there was little international flavour in any of the NZ squads, it’s now as much a sign of the significant diaspora occurring in the game in recent times as it is a shrewd bit of recruitment from McMillan. New Zealand franchises should want to recruit experienced talent from overseas – but they shouldn’t have to.
The Highlanders have also looked overseas to provide cover in their outside backs, bringing in Argentinian Martin Bogado. Unlike Ryan, however, Bogado isn’t a well-known, experienced star – further emphasising the player drain that New Zealand coaches are going to have to contend with in 2023 and beyond.
The positive for the Chiefs, despite the injury to Ta’avao, is that they’re well stocked on the loosehead side of the scrum, with Aidan Ross, Ollie Norris and Jarred Proffit all proven scrummagers, and the former two now boasting ample experience at Super Rugby level.
Clayton McMillan’s men shouldn’t struggle to compete with the best forward units in the competition next year, especially at scrum time – and some of that will likely be accredited to the presence of big Irishman John Ryan – but while Ryan’s recruitment will likely benefit the Chiefs, it’s perhaps a sign of a more insidious problem New Zealand rugby is struggling with at present.
Comments on RugbyPass
The Springboks tried going down the road of only picking home-based players and it was an unmitigated disaster in 2016 and 2017. Picking overseas-based players has been one of the main reason the Boks have done so well since 2018, not only because of the quality Rassie could call on, but because of the knowledge and experience those players brought into camp from England, France and Japan. With some of the big names playing abroad it also gave younger players in SA the chance to break through at franchise level. Would we have seen the emergence of a Ruan Nortje if RG and Lood were still at the Bulls? Not so sure. I understand why Jake would want to block players leaving since his job depends on good results but it’s an approach that would take Bok rugby back to the bad old days and no South African wants to see that.
8 Go to commentsExeter were thumped by 38 points. And they only had to hop on a train.
34 Go to commentsI am De Groot.
1 Go to commentsHad hoped you might write an article on this game, Nick. It’s a good one. Things have not gone as smoothly for ROG since beating Leinster last year at the Aviva in the CC final. LAR had the Top 14 Final won till Raymond Rhule missed a simple tackle on the excellent Ntamack, and Toulouse reaped the rewards of just staying in the fight till the death. Then the disruption of the RWC this season. LAR have not handled that well, but they were not alone, and we saw Pau heading the Top 14 table at one stage early season. I would think one of the reasons for the poor showing would have to be that the younger players coming through, and the more mature amongst the group outside the top 25/30, are not as strong as would be hoped for. I note that Romain Sazy retired at the end of last season. He had been with LAR since 2010, and was thus one of their foundation players when they were promoted to Top 14. Records show he ended up with 336 games played with LAR. That is some experience, some rock in the team. He has been replaced for the most part by Ultan Dillane. At 30, Dillane is not young, but given the chances, he may be a fair enough replacement for Sazy. But that won’be for more than a few years. I honestly know little of the pathways into the LAR setup from within France. I did read somewhere a couple of years ago that on the way up to Top 14, the club very successfully picked up players from the academies of other French teams who were not offered places by those teams. These guys were often great signings…can’t find the article right now, so can’t name any….but the Tadgh Beirne type players. So all in all, it will be interesting to see where the replacements for all the older players come from. Only Lleyd’s and Rhule from SA currently, both backs. So maybe a few SA forwards ?? By contrast, Leinster have a pretty clear line of good players coming through in the majority of positions. Props maybe a weak spot ? And they are very fleet footed and shrewd in appointing very good coaches. Or maybe it is also true that very good coaches do very well in the Leinster setup. So, Nick, I would fully concurr that “On the evidence of Saturday’s semi-final between the two clubs, the rebuild in the Bay of Biscay is going to take longer than it is on the east coast of Ireland”
11 Go to commentsWhat was the excuse for the other knockout blowouts then? Does the result not prove the Saints were just so much better? Wise call to put your eggs in one basket when you’ve got 2 comps simultaneously finishing.
34 Go to commentsReally hope Kuruvoli and his partner rock the Canes.
1 Go to commentsI wonder what impact Samson has had on their attack, as the team seems less prone to trundle it up the middle, take the tackle and then trundle it up again. I lost faith in the coach last year as the Rebelss looked like a 2nd/3rd rate South African team. I also disliked Gordon standing back, often ignored as the forward battle went on and on. Maybe its our Aussie way of not getting off our A***’s until the enemy is at the gate.
86 Go to commentsThanks for the write up. Great to see the Rebs winning, I am a little interested in how they will go against the remaining kiwi teams, I think they’ve only played Hurricanes and Highlanders but how great to see these players performing!! I also see Parling has a job beyond June 30! A good move by RA? Also how do you fix the Rebels previously scratchy defence?
86 Go to commentsbe smart - go black
13 Go to commentsNext week the Crusaders hopefully have Scott Barrett back. Will be great to have the captain back. Hopefully he will be the All Black captain as well.
12 Go to commentsExciting place to be for the young fella. I expected he was French Polynesian when I saw him included in the France 6N squad (after seeing him in NZs), and therefor be strong grounds we might loose him to rugby down here. Good, in that he is good enough to warrant such a profile, and from a journalism’s fan interaction aspect, to finally get a back ground story on the fella. Hope he has settled into NZ OK and that at least one rugby country will fit with him to help his development, which, if so, he should surely continue for a few years, and then that he can experience France to it’s fullest with a bit more maturity and less reliance on family than you would have at his current age. A good 3 or 4 years before he would be ready for International duty if he wanted to wait. Of course he already sounds good enough to accept a call up, and to cap himself, in the more immediate future (he’d have to be very very good in the case of the ABs), and he’ll get a great taste of that being with the Canes who have a bunch who are just a few years further into their career and looking likely Internationals themselves.
13 Go to commentsI remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.
8 Go to commentsOh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on their @r$e$ one week later?
34 Go to commentsYou know he can land a winning conversion after the full time siren is up. (Even if it takes two attempts.)
5 Go to commentsA very insightful article from Jake. I would love to know how South African’s feel about their move to Europe. Do you prefer playing in Europe or want to go back to Super Rugby?
8 Go to commentspure fire
1 Go to commentsA very well thought out summary of all the relevant complications…agree with your ”refer the Cricket Test versus 20/20 comparison”. More also definitely doesn't necessarily mean better!
8 Go to commentsMust be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
13 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
11 Go to commentsI know Leinster did a job on La Roche but shortly after HT Leinster were 30-13 ahead of them and at a similar time Toulouse were trailing Exeter. At 60 mins Leinster were 27 ahead but after 67 mins Toulouse were only 19 ahead before Exeter collapsed. That’s heavier scoring by Leinster against the Champions. I think people are looking at Toulouses total a little too much. I also think Northhampton are in with a real chance, albeit I’d put Leinster as favourites. If Leinster make the final I expect them to win by more than ten and with control.
11 Go to comments