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Kiwi stars eager for Maro Itoje, Owen Farrell to join Super Rugby next year

By Online Editors
(Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

The idea of England stars Maro Itoje and Owen Farrell playing for the Chiefs in Super Rugby next season has been described as “unbelievable”, “great for the game” and “awesome for spectators” by two of Super Rugby Aotearoa’s leading players.

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Speculation of the pair joining the Hamilton franchise in 2021 has been rife over the past week after it was revealed that Saracens are considering loaning their players out next season as they face a campaign in the RFU Championship.

The London club will be relegated to England’s second-tier competition for the 2020/21 domestic season as a result of salary cap breaches.

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Itoje in Super Rugby? Yes, please!

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Itoje in Super Rugby? Yes, please!

That could see a slew of top players in contention for selection for the British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa next year leave the reigning English and European champions before returning ahead of the 2021-22 season.

There are currently six players in the Saracens squad who featured on the Lions’ most recent tour of New Zealand in 2017 – Farrell, Itoje, Jamie George, Elliot Daly and Mako and Billy Vunipola.

All of those players would be among those expected to depart the club in search of top-level rugby ahead of the 2021 tour, and it may be FMG Stadium Waikato where the likes of Itoje and Farrell end up.

Saracens boss Mark McCall last week revealed he has been in discussions with Chiefs head coach Warren Gatland about the possibility of sending his players to Super Rugby on a short-term basis.

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Gatland, who lead his side to a winless Super Rugby Aotearoa campaign, won’t be at the club next year as he takes charge of his third Lions tour as part of the sabbatical deal included in the four-year contract he signed last year.

That seemingly hasn’t stopped him from playing a key role in potentially landing the Chiefs two of the biggest names in European rugby. “I don’t think it is out of the question,” McCall said last week when asked about the possibility of Super Rugby loans.

“I don’t think, if that was to happen, it would be for very long. It would be to get enough rugby to make sure they are firing come the Lions tour. I talked to Warren on Monday and he was very happy with the situation.”

Speaking on the Aotearoa Rugby Pod, Crusaders halfback Bryn Hall and Blues hooker James Parsons made no secret of how significant a move it would be for rugby in New Zealand if Itoje or Farrell were to join the Chiefs.

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Parsons used his former teammate and three-test England midfielder Joe Marchant, who joined the Blues on a loan deal from Harlequins this year, as an example of how well players from Europe can adapt to the fast-paced nature of Super Rugby.

“They play a different style, but use Joe Marchant as an example. He’s a great player, he was exceptional for us when he played,” the two-test All Blacks rake said.

“He fully adjusted his game to our style and looked right at home towards the end there, and he’s just finding himself at international level. Bring guys like that [Farrell and Itoje] over, man, that would be great for our comp. It would be great for players, as well, to test themselves against guys like that. [The] Chiefs will be really wrapped.”

Hall, who was part of the Crusaders side that claimed the inaugural Super Rugby Aotearoa title in their 32-22 victory over the Highlanders on Sunday, replicated his North Harbour teammate’s sentiments. The Maori All Blacks halfback noted the addition of Itoje and Farrell would help add star power and international flavour to a competition that is likely to be restricted to teams from New Zealand and possibly Australia from next year onwards.

“I just think it’d be great to have those kinds of calibre players coming over,” he said. “I’d love to see it. I’d love to see Itoje. I love watching him play and, even the likes of Owen Farrell and the calibre of those guys coming into our competition, especially moving forward, with the possibility of us not playing South African teams or anything like that, having the calibre of those kinds of players coming and playing with us, it’s only going to add to our competition.”

Hall did, however, express concerns over whether the recruitment of world-class foreign stars would hinder the development of young, local talents. Parsons refuted that notion, highlighting how much up-and-coming youngsters could learn off players like Itoje and Farrell.

He added that could be especially beneficial for the Chiefs’ youthful and relatively inexperienced squad, which he believes contributed to the Hamilton franchise’s luckless run through Super Rugby Aotearoa. “Warren Gatland’s been saying that the age of their team [has held them back], and yeah, I agree the only way you can learn is by getting out there, but you can certainly learn off guys like that,” Parsons said.

“It’d be massive. They’re young men as well, they’re not old. I don’t know, it would be great for the game, awesome for the spectator, and I’d love to see how Itoje would go, like week-to-week. I’d just love to see it. It’d be a good test study. Both hemispheres are like ‘We’re the best and toughest’. It’d just be great to mix and mingle and see how well they go. It would be great.”

Listen to the full episode of the Aotearoa Rugby Pod below

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J
Jon 6 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 9 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

35 Go to comments
A
Adrian 10 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

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