NZR works miracles to keep talent

The game’s administrators deserve huge credit for their approach.

Rugby in this country is rarely praised for innovative, smart thinking in the boardroom.

No problems about quick thinking on it. Step forward as exhibit A please, Richie McCaw, who for 15 years continually adapted his game so brilliantly that however it was being played he remained the best openside flanker in the world.

On the other hand, since the NZRU was formed in 1892, it’s been first choice whipping boy for critics, often with good reason.

But in the rush to blame what is now New Zealand Rugby for everything from the demise of club rugby to the switch from sausage rolls to sushi at after match functions, and the delight critics take in calling the Wellington headquarters The Kremlin, what is possibly the most astonishing off field success of any sport in the country is usually overlooked.

Keeping the vast majority of All Blacks here borders on the miraculous.

The foundation for the success at retaining players was laid back in 1995 when the NZRU decided on a central contracting system, where every professional player in the country was signed to the union, not to individual franchises or clubs. It gave the NZRU huge bargaining power and flexibility.

The second plank laid then was the decision that only players in New Zealand could play for the All Blacks.

But having ideals is one thing. Sticking to them in a commercial, competitive world is another. That’s where New Zealand Rugby has been outstanding.

In blunt terms there isn’t a single All Black who couldn’t earn more money if he played in Europe or Japan. A lot more. Making a jump from up to $1 million a year here to well over $2 million in France.

Right now NZR is working to keep Aaron Cruden, Ben Smith, and Israel Dagg in the fold. If they keep one it’d be a great effort. If they keep two amazing, and if they keep all three look for a star rising in the East.

A key issue with player retention is surely that today’s All Blacks know where they stand. If they ask Steve Hansen what their prospects are they’ll get a straight answer.

It’s the reason Andy Ellis stayed in New Zealand for four seasons after he was dropped from the All Blacks in 2012. Hansen had told him he wasn’t wiped from the selectors’ books, and although Ellis didn’t make the cut for the World Cup again, he did get a shot at the All Blacks again in the 2015 test in Apia with Samoa.

The openness with players started before Hansen took over. Justin Marshall tells a great story of talking to Graham Henry in 2004 when Marshall was considering a big offer to play for Leeds in England.

Not quite prepared to ask directly if he was still in Henry’s plans he told the coach about the Leeds offer. ‘‘It sounds like a great deal Marshy,’’ said Henry. ‘‘Yeah, it looks pretty good Ted.’’ ‘‘It does Marshy.’’ ‘‘Yeah, very good.’’ Pause. ‘‘Very good deal Marshy. Probably worth looking at.’’ Marshall took the hint, and the Leeds’ offer.

What’s extraordinary now is how not only the headliners, but players like loose forward Matt Todd, who toiled as a back-up to McCaw, and now finds himself competing with not only Sam Cane, but also a new star in Ardie Savea, for an All Black spot, stick it out.

When you consider the power NZR, as the only player employer in the country, has with contracts, the chances for disaster are almost limitless.

But part of the retention secret with men like Todd may be, in what is a slightly unusual concept for many businesses, the NZR aiming to be a fair employer.

The NZR’s lead contract negotiator is Chris Lendrum, whose soft spoken persona is about as far from the cliche´d desk thumping, phone shouting, bullying boss as could be imagined. You feel you can believe him when he says, for example, ‘‘you don’t punish players for not putting themselves to the market internationally.’’

In other words, if you’re a Todd or an Ellis, whose agent possibly isn’t holding a big international contract in one hand, or a Cruden or a Ben Smith, whose agent would be, you can expect similar treatment.

Maybe whisper it around deeply cynical observers, but when you look at the players who stay here it’s hard not to conclude that, in the area of player retention at least, NZR is doing something very right.