Taufua turn around on Japan
Jordan Taufua’s decision to reverse out of a contract with a Japanese club should, all going to plan, result in him finally earning his first All Blacks cap.
Loose forward Taufua, who was named in the All Blacks squad to play France earlier this month but never played because of a calf injury, is understood to have been granted a release from the Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars club before playing a game for them.
Slated to leave New Zealand after the Crusaders completed their Super Rugby season, the 26 year old will now be back on Tasman’s roster and therefore eligible to represent the All Blacks.
Taufua’s sudden change of heart suggests the All Blacks selectors have asked him to stay in New Zealand ahead of the Rugby Championship and, later in the year, the tour to Japan and Europe.
It’s good news for Tasman, although how much mileage they will get out of the blindside flanker/ No 8 during the Mitre 10 Cup hinges on the whims of the national selectors, who may require him to skip the majority, if not all, of the competition.
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen will require a 33-man squad for the Bledisloe Cup and Rugby Championship tests, and given Taufua was a member of the group picked for the domestic series against France, it’s expected he will be retained.
An intimidating defender with an appetite for carrying the ball, Taufua was always contracted to return to the Crusaders in 2019 which would put him in the picture for the World Cup tournament being played in Japan.
Tasman will be proud to have four All Blacks on their books. Shannon Frizell, Liam Squire, Tim Perry and Taufua are all contracted, but coach Leon MacDonald shouldn’t budget on getting big minutes out of them during the campaign. Because even if All Blacks players are not involved in the match-day 23 for tests, they are often asked to steer clear of the Mitre 10 Cup to prevent risk of injury.
Last year Tasman fullback David Havili made just three appearances as a substitute for the All Blacks during the Rugby Championship, but was released for just one outing in the Mitre 10 Cup.
In addition to having fringe All Blacks siphoned out of their campaigns, some provinces will lose experienced players to Japanese clubs before they return to their Super Rugby teams for the 2019 season.
Highlanders players Richard Buckman, Tom Franklin and Elliot Dixon will skip the Mitre 10 Cup to play in Japan. Crusaders openside flanker Matt Todd, who appeared as an injury replacement for Ardie Savea in the third test against France in Dunedin, will also head to Japa, but may be involved in the first two Bledisloe Cup tests if Sam Cane and Savea are unfit.
Luke Whitelock, who started all three tests against France because No 8 Kieran Read was unavailable, spurned an offer from a Japanese club and will potentially play for Canterbury if not locked into All Blacks duties.
It’s tough for provinces to draw crowds, and not having test players in action isn’t helpful.
In Canterbury’s annual report for the 2017 season commercial manager Warren Goddard took aim at NZ Rugby, claiming a ‘‘serious decline’’ in grant funding from gaming and NZR, plus no All Blacks tests in Christchurch, had reduced potential for fan generated income from the Mitre 10 Cup.
‘‘Sadly, minimal effort appears to be applied from NZ Rugby in assisting provincial unions to meaningfully advance the Mitre 10 Cup brand and fan retention and acquisition strategies,’’ Goddard wrote in the report.
The challenge, said Goddard, was for Canterbury to devise a more resilient business model by ‘‘advancing its own plans through a focus on commercial innovation and enhanced fan experience’’.