No exit clause for Todd
Matt Todd doesn’t have a clause in his Japanese club contract that provides short-term leave to join the All Blacks.
Speculation whether Todd, who elected to skip Canterbury’s defence of the Mitre 10 Cup premiership title to play in Japan under former Crusaders coach Robbie Deans, would be recalled to the All Blacks has been rife since Sam Cane suffered a fractured neck against the Springboks in Pretoria last weekend.
It’s understood Panasonic, the club Todd is contracted to until he rejoins the Crusaders for the final year of his NZ Rugby deal in 2019, presented NZ Rugby with the opportunity to select Todd from an overseas base when the deal was drawn up in the summer – but the offer was declined.
NZ Rugby, unlike South Africa or Australia who allow players to represent foreign clubs and still wear their national colours, has a rule that states players must stay in New Zealand and play in its competitions to be eligible for the All Blacks. If Todd was allowed to take a break from Panasonic and join the national side, it would create a unique situation, and potentially, a dangerous precedent for NZ Rugby.
In late 2014 the All Blacks asked halfback Andy Ellis, who was contracted to the Kobe Steelers in Japan, if he could join them as injury cover on their northern tour because Tawera Kerr-Barlow had broken down.
But Kobe refused to release him, and Augustine Pulu was picked as the third halfback instead.
‘‘My management basically asked the club if I could be released. It was close but we just couldn’t get it over the line,’’ Ellis told Stuff in early 2015.
NZ Rugby didn’t want to compromise itself by picking a player who was representing an overseas club.
The best way to circumnavigate that was for Kobe to release Ellis so he could return to New Zealand. When the club declined to release him, the deal collapsed.
Now the All Blacks find themselves in a similar situation with Todd.
With Cane unavailable, Ardie Savea is the only New Zealanddomiciled No 7 to have played tests.
Highlanders and North Harbour fetcher Dillon Hunt made an appearance in the midweek game against a French XV in Lyon last year, but has not earned a test cap.
Other frontline candidates to play on the openside, such as Hawkes Bay’s Gareth Evans, have never represented their country. Auckland’s Blake Gibson has been ruled out with a leg injury.
It’s understood Panasonic are keen to support Todd, but they clearly have first dibs on his services.
It now remains to be seen whether NZ Rugby and the club, if the All Blacks want Todd for the tour, can come to terms on some sort of agreement. It seems unlikely at this point.
Todd, who has made just 14 test appearances since 2013, of which four have been starts, has never nailed down a regular starting role in the All Blacks.
Last year he appeared to making some headway with the selectors when he was preferred ahead of Savea on the bench, but opted to negotiate a deal that saw him join Panasonic after the Super Rugby final on August 4.
Cane and Savea were preferred as the opensiders for the series against France in June, although Todd was called in as injury cover and made an appearance in the third test in Dunedin.
In 2015 the selectors picked just two openside flankers in Richie McCaw and Cane.
If they follow that logic for the World Cup next year, the unlucky Todd could, once again, be left in the cold.