Ainst money men

Think Dan Carter’s ill-fated sojourn to French club Perpignan in 2008-09.

And if players are allowed to play elsewhere they might not be lost in a case of crisis, a la Matt Todd who has been called back from his stint with Japanese club Panasonic Wild Knights.

‘‘If we can get guys to stay committed to us like Matt [Todd] has, have that break to go somewhere different then so be it,’’ Tew said.

Significantly, NZR had to seek approval from its board for the unprecedented move and Hansen made a point of publicly thanking Panasonic Wild Knights for releasing Todd.

Just four sabbaticals have been taken by senior All Blacks. Dan Carter (twice), Richie McCaw and Ben Smith but only Carter’s first involved actually playing.

‘‘A number of the current crop have also got clauses in their contracts that would give them an opportunity for a longer off-season or a break at some point in time and those ideas are constantly up on the table for every negotiation we have and we treat each player on its merits,’’ Tew said.

And as NZR tries to entice players to stay in New Zealand, Tew said, in some rare cases, there could be flexibility shown like never before.

‘‘It’s not impossible in the next round of negotiations that we might give people a longer time so that they have a whole Super Rugby season away and an All Black campaign away and come back the following year.’’

A whole or at least most of the season away from playing in New Zealand?

Think of it as short-term pain for long-term gain. Success doesn’t come without sacrifice and success in international rugby is judged by World Cups.

But any sabbatical will take spirited negotiations with Super Rugby coaches.

It’s quite plausible NZR will support the likes of Moody, Whitelock, Owen Franks, Retallick and Barrett heading off hiking in the Himalayas or something similar for six months to help nurse their ageing bodies through until the 2023 World Cup in France.

‘‘Particularly as we lead into the next World Cup cycle and there are a lot of very senior players obviously going to start making decisions about their future,’’ Tew said.

Carter and McCaw would later say their nonplaying sabbaticals were key to getting them through to the 2015 World Cup.