Smith has to stay to seal his ABs legacy
The brilliant fullback can cement his place among greats, writes Marc Hinton.
I'm confident we'll pack the park out. will be up to scratch.’’
Since Ieremia took charge he has formed close ties with Daryl Gibson at the Waratahs, and hopes hosting the Blues will be the start of regular fixtures in Samoa. ’’I’d like to think it’s an opportunity for us to form something for the future.’’
Ieremia believes Samoa is slowly proving they are making strides after corruption claims and threats of strike action led to intervention from World Rugby.
‘‘The word has spread around our capabilities of hosting big internationals and professional teams. We’re excited about the fact the Blues and Reds are coming here; two teams that have a great affiliation with Samoan rugby. Both boast lots of Polynesians in those cities.
‘‘From where we’ve come with the reforms over the last couple of years and everything we’ve been through I’d like to think these little wins for us in terms of getting international exposure and attracting international teams is a sign of good things to come.
‘‘As a union we’ve got to make the most of these opportunities.’’
Following the Blues match Wales, minus their British and Irish Lions contingent, will play a test in Apia in June. Samoa have also secured outings against Scotland and England in November, making it three tier one tests in between World Cup qualification matches against neighbours Fiji and Tonga.
Ieremia will also lead a Samoan side largely filled by local players to the Brisbane Global Tens early next month. OPINION: I don’t care whether Ben Smith plays at the Brisbane Tens. But I do care deeply whether he stays in New Zealand.
That is the rugby story we should all be talking about, rather than helping some very savvy New Zealand sporting promoters sell an event that, frankly, is inconsequential in the greater scheme of things.
Let’s talk about Smith’s future first. Priorities, and all that.
Clearly he has the chance to make some huge money (talk of well over $2 million a year) if he goes to Pau in France, but I would be very surprised if that was the factor that swings it for the All Blacks and Highlanders fullback when he finally makes a decision on his future - which I’m told he hasn’t done yet.
That’s a lot of money in rugby terms (though not in, say, the NBA landscape) and would be extremely difficult for NZ Rugby to match.
But Smith is a smart man (Kings High School-educated), and I’m sure he will mull over all factors before he decides on his future beyond 2017 when his current contract with NZR comes to an end.
Right now Smith is among the two or three most valuable and important All Blacks and one of the premier players on the planet. He has played 60 tests, scored 27 tries, and has won one World Cup and one Super Rugby championship. He also might be the most consistent and reliable individual in the modern game − a rare type who simply never has a bad day at the office, and almost always an extremely good one.
But even now Smith is not yet a truly great All Black. His legacy remains incomplete.
Give him another two or three years, and the chance to bring up the century of test caps, tuck a Lions series victory under his belt, maybe win another global crown, and he will cement his status alongside the likes of Richie McCaw, Dan Carter, Conrad Smith and Ma’a Nonu among his contemporaries as true legends of the Kiwi game. Then he will be one of the greats. The money that Pau is prepared to pay him to come and grind away in the French Top League is extraordinary, on a rugby scale. But the value in being an All Black icon and true legend is almost priceless. I hope Smith understands that. I’m sure he does.
It’s also an important re-signing for New Zealand rugby. A test case possibly.
Up till now the negotiators at HQ have done an incredibly good job of keeping New Zealand’s premier rugby talent plying their trade in this country. Very seldom do they lose one they really want to keep (with the possible exception of Charles Piutau, who might be the exception that proves the rule).
But the money up north is spiralling into dangerous territory and the task for NZR is getting tougher and tougher.
I’ve always felt that the loyalty of McCaw and Carter had value beyond merely their retention as important All Blacks. It inspired others to follow suit. If it was good enough for the best in the game to stay put, others must have felt huge pressure to do likewise.
Now Smith presents as the new barometer. If NZR can put together the money, conditions and argument to keep him around, then surely others will follow suit in due course. And the Tens? Excuse me if I’m not up in arms about the hit and giggle not having any frontline All Blacks who were never going to play in the tournament anyway.
Since the hardening of the All Blacks’ off-season via the collective bargaining agreement, our top players who tour in November have only ever just been able to sneak in enough footy to get back for week one of Super Rugby. Even then it’s a close run thing.
Playing Tens was never, ever going to be a consideration, despite what you may have read. Duco do a fine job generating interest in all their sporting occasions. We know that. But on this occasion we need to separate the hype from the reality.
I hope the Brizzie event goes well. Lord knows Australia could do with something positive around its rugby. And it might just be a welcome diversion from the meaningless pre-season hit-outs for our Super Rugby teams.
But our All Blacks have far bigger fish to fry in 2017.
Alama Ieremia