Split loyalties may yet play a part with key All Blacks off-contract beyond 2021
While there are few players in recent years who New Zealand Rugby have lost overseas that they would have dearly loved to have kept in the country, palms will always get a little bit sweaty when key All Blacks enter the final year of their contracts.
While the locking department is incredibly well-stocked with Samuel Whitelock, Brodie Retallick, Scott Barrett, Patrick Tuipulotu, Tupou Vaa’i, Mitch Dunshea and Quinten Strange all signed until 2023, the same couldn’t be said for the front row, where a number of important cogs in the All Blacks scrum are yet to put pen to paper beyond the current season.
In fact, there are a number of players across every position whose contracts are coming to an end.
The good news is that the bulk of the squad that Ian Foster selected for last year’s international series are locked in until at least the end of 2022.
Some, including senior figures Dane Coles, Aaron Smith, Anton Lienert-Brown and Beauden Barrett are contracted until the 2023 World Cup in France.
There are others, however, who NZR will be conscious could command a mammoth paycheck overseas and are yet to confirm their medium-term future.
Hookers Codie Taylor and Nathan Harris, props Karl Tu’inukuafe, Angus Ta’avao, Atu Moli and Alex Hodgman, loose forwards Sam Cane, Ardie Savea and Akira Ioane, halfbacks TJ Perenara and Brad Weber, midfielder Ngani Laumape and utility back Damian McKenzie are all in the finals year of their contract.
A number of those players are only now entering the peak of their careers and will certainly remain in New Zealand but there are others who may feel their best years are behind them and that the money on offer in Japan or Europe is a safer bet than trying to force their way back into the All Blacks.
Already, Perenara is rumoured to be weighing up a move to rugby league while Ngani Laumape has been linked to French club Stade Francais.
Where things get more interesting is that there’s still much uncertainty about what next year’s rugby calendar will look like. Will New Zealand’s long-serving players want to stick around for another set of back-to-back derby matches?
New Zealand Rugby is on a one-way street with a significant fork in the road. There's a huge amount riding on NZR's upcoming Silver Lake decision, writes Gregor Paul. #AllBlackshttps://t.co/0dcgxLdq9g
— RugbyPass+ (@RugbyPassPlus) April 16, 2021
For some players, deciding whether or not to stay in NZ won’t be the only tough question; where they play their Super Rugby will be just as troubling.
Ardie Savea and Damian McKenzie, in particular, may have split loyalties.
Savea has previously expressed interest in representing Moana Pasifika, who are set to join the competition in 2021. If he’s to stay in New Zealand, potentially playing second-fiddle to Sam Cane in the All Blacks No 7 jersey, will he be content remaining in the capital or will he look to support the further professionalism of Pacific Island rugby by linking up with the new side?
McKenzie’s is a conundrum of a different sort.
The fleet-footed clutch-kicking pocket rocket was born and raised in Southland before relocating to Canterbury for his final years of schooling. He then shifted further north when Waikato and the Chiefs came calling.
Despite now spending over half a decade in Chiefs territory, would McKenzie consider a move back to the South Island?
Last year, ahead of the North v South fixture, McKenzie was somewhat torn over where his allegiance lay.
“Obviously, growing up in Southland, that’s where my roots are – and going to school in Christchurch,” he said.
“It would be nice to be eligible to play for the South Island squad but obviously [my] first provincial game was for Waikato so that’s the rules and the eligibility. If I was to play for either team I’m happy but it looks like my hand will be up for the North Island team.”
At 26 years of age, one last long-term contract could be all that McKenzie has left in him before he decides to make the most of his opportunities and head overseas.
Perhaps he’d be interested in spending a bit more time closer to home – either at the Crusaders or Highlanders.
There’s been no real indication at this stage that McKenzie is looking for a switch, but it will be something he weighs up, even if it’s only for a fleeting moment.
New Zealand Rugby, of course, will just be happy if they can lock him into a new deal to stay in the country.
The same is true for the likes of Codie Taylor and Sam Cane who are in career-best form (Cane until he got injured, of course).
There will be plenty going on at NZR right now, especially with the potential Silver Lake deal on their minds – which could determine whether some players actually stay in the country or leave – and player contracts is just one additional thing to deal with.
Expect plenty of announcements over the coming months.
Final year of All Blacks’ contracts:
2021: Codie Taylor, Nathan Harris, Karl Tu’inukuafe, Angus Ta’avao, Atu Moli, Alex Hodgman, Sam Cane, Ardie Savea, Vaea Fifita, Gareth Evans, Dillon Hunt, TJ Perenara, Brad Weber, Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, Bryn Hall, Brett Cameron, Ngani Laumape, Damian McKenzie.
2022: Liam Coltman, Joe Moody, Nepo Laulala, Dalton Papalii, Hoskins Sotutu, Mitchell Drummond, Richie Mo’unga, Rieko Ioane, Peter Umaga-Jensen, Sevu Reece, George Bridge, Jordie Barrett, Caleb Clarke, Will Jordan.
2023: Dane Coles, Asafo Aumua, Samuel Whitelock, Brodie Retallick, Scott Barrett, Patrick Tuipulotu, Tupou Vaa’i, Mitch Dunshea, Quinten Strange, Shannon Frizell, Anton Lienert-Brown, Jack Goodhue, David Havili, Braydon Ennor, Beauden Barrett.
2024: Ofa Tuungafasi.
Comments on RugbyPass
the game was 2 weeks before the challenge cup final. I really don’t believe they needed to rest that many players.
1 Go to commentsI really feel like neither of the Vunipolas is given the respect they deserve. I would have liked to see both of them get a few more caps than they have gotten in the past couple of years, but unfortunately the fact that they both peaked young has meant that for a number of years they have been perceived as disappointments. When they are both retired, in the cold light of day they will be recognised as two of the best players of their generation of any nation.
2 Go to commentsthis generation of saracens players could produce some really incredible coaches. When Farrell retires he could walk into any premiership team as a defence, attack, or kicking coach. Itoje could make it as a defence or a lineout coach, and Jamie George as a lineout or scrum coach. The problem the Vunipolas are going to have is that its not clear what their coaching speciality would be. Neither are great in the set piece, and while they were good in attack and defence, they were never tactical masterminds. Perhaps contact skills would be their ideal brief? Mako perhaps could work in strength & conditioning, but Billy has a bit of a reputation for not taking that side of the game seriously.
2 Go to commentsA very good player.We are finally getting some balance in our team. Plummer..Heem ..Lam a solid..experienced combo who take the sensible options consistently. Clarke was a grt impact of the bench option until Lam moved to 13 to replace an injured Reiko. Cotter is doing a grt job building his team. .
1 Go to commentsSaturday was last straw. Terrible record in Premiership since Jan 23. Capitulation against Bath at home. There are 3 conclusions. Players aren't good enough. Coaching team aren't good enough or combination of both.
2 Go to commentsAs you say in your article Brett, the point was Hamish and his vanity - plain and simple. The crazy bit is that sua’ali’i has to be probably twice the player of mark N, no easy feat, just for RA to get their money's worth!?! And as you say, tahs aren't short of wingers, props on the other hand id like to see $1.6m spent on. I still shake my head at the absolute carry on in the media and comments section around the boon of getting sua’ali’i and the revenue it'd generate. It was all such hogwash imo and short sighted, real sugar hit stuff. And wasnt Waugh (and others) on the board at the time this money was spent? You say silver bullet, I'd say sugar hit but without the flavour.
2 Go to commentsNZR should play hard all a bit with some of these players and make them sign up to the next world cup. If they won’t, offer it to someone who will. Because what happens is the NH (especially France) swoop on a bunch of nz players coming off contract, weakening their depth, and nz scrambles less than 2 years out trying to get replacements up to speed.
1 Go to commentsNo thanks. Savea almost always leaves easy points out there and goes for the corner, no matter how many times it’s not working. He claimed he took “the learnings” from this when he kept making the same mistake against the Boks a few years ago. Then went out the very next week and did the same thing and SA snatched victory because of it. Years later he still does it, right up to and including the world cup final. Great player, not so great rugby nous.
10 Go to commentsIt certainly wasn't a rhetorical masterpiece coming from big E …. (just as a side remark: Eben is the better player, Siya by far the better talker - maybe that's why they don't seem to like each other very much) …. but could we please move on?
61 Go to commentsMan who wasn't there and hasn't held a conversation with those who were present weighs in on dead rubber debate and is presented as representative of the Irish Rugby Union’s spokesperson on subject he has no apparent knowledge of whatsoever.
61 Go to commentsanybody who bends at the waist when they tackle
3 Go to commentsThe evidence is not strong that this is necessary. Mounga choked on clutch kicks in the WRC final and lost the match by not performing his core goal kicking role to the level required. He also choked in the Semi final against England and was targeted as the weak point in the defence allowing them to score. Not a test great frankly. Why bend the rules for a player that is competent but not brilliant at test level?
11 Go to commentsDear Robbie, Please return to the Crusaders next season. Sincerely, Scott
1 Go to commentsDid the big E call the Irish the ‘White Can’ts’? That would’ve been good
61 Go to commentsDalton Papalii will be lucky to be selected on the Matchday 23. Ardie Savea, Ethan Blackadder, Luke Jacobson, and Peter Lauki are all as good or better openside flankers
10 Go to commentsScott Barrett is a lock and they have a much longer shelf life than a loose forward. Far more likely that Barrett will still demand a starting position based on performance at age 33 at RWC 2027 than Savea, whose explosive athleticism will have declined and he will in all likelihood have been surpassed by Hoskins Sotutu, Wallace Siti, Peter Lauki and Brayden Iose.
10 Go to commentsExtremely frustrating to get yet more speculation over whether or not Eben actually counted 12 players or not, but honestly big respect to McCloskey for keeping it classy and not pointing out Etzebeth’s hypocrisy. The Irish are a popular team outside of Ireland because they do their talking on the pitch, and its honestly a PR masterclass that they’re keeping it that way following Etzebeth’s provocation.
61 Go to commentsGood option for the lineout lost there.
1 Go to commentsIt’s not like Saffas have a long history of spouting absolute shite at any & every occasion. Oh wait… The dangers of an inferior third world education strike again.
61 Go to commentsI’m so glad we’re revisiting this. Really needs to be dissected further. I’m also so glad that a guy in the stands who wasn’t anywhere near the field when any of it would have been said (and even confirms this) has taken the lead and commented as Ireland. Definitely cleared it all up. This article would be hilarious if it wasn’t so misleading.
61 Go to comments