Hands off our talent
"It is teenagers, sometimes 15-year-olds, being approached about signing by clubs in both union and league. That's scary."
Steve Tew, left
New Zealand Rugby boss Steve Tew claims foreign clubs are now targeting Kiwi 15-year-olds as the country’s talent drain continues. Tew told Britain’s Daily Telegraph he believed this was the latest threat to keeping New Zealand at the forefront of the game.
While targeting top players is nothing new – New Zealand have lost 18 players, including eight All Blacks, to European clubs in the last year – it’s the targeting of teenaged talent that is increasing concerns at Wellington HQ.
‘‘We have been concerned about our player stocks for some time, particularly the French market, but there’s a bit going on in England and Japan as well,’’ Tew said.
‘‘Clubs are increasingly talking to agents about players at a much younger age. Unfortunately it is getting younger and younger to a point we are going to have sit down to make sure we are not talking to young men before they are ready to make those type of decisions. It is teenagers, sometimes 15-year-olds, being approached about signing by clubs in both union and league. That’s scary. We have to be very careful.’’
New Zealand has become an unrivalled nursery of talent with an increasingly buoyant secondary schools first XV competition that receives national TV exposure.
Tew felt World Rugby’s extension of the residency qualification period for international players from three to five years effective from 2020, may be behind the latest trend of foreign clubs targeting younger talent. ‘‘With the five-year eligibility rule coming in that may or may not help,’’ Tew said.
‘‘We may see them target younger players even earlier and try to qualify them for the five years. What we are seeing at the moment is younger players being offered longer contracts. It is an ongoing conundrum without a straightforward solution in a free market. As bad as it is for New Zealand, it is a hell of a lot worse for Samoa, Fiji and Tonga.
‘‘It is a concern to us, but it should also be a concern to those [foreign] unions too because we are seeing foreign players filling up a number of critical positions within teams and leagues.’’
Tew revealed NZR was looking to open relationships with some foreign clubs to have its leading players have sabbaticals and keep them in the Kiwi system longer.
That’s a reaction to offshore clubs managing to lure an increasing number of All Blacks and players when they were in the prime of their careers rather than their twilight days. Lima Sopoaga, 27, is the latest All Black to head away prematurely while yesterday, veteran Jerome Kaino confirmed he had signed with French club Toulouse.
‘‘We are talking to a number of clubs over an extended period of time with connections to New Zealanders who we know are there,’’ Tew said in the Daily Telegraph article. ‘‘It may just be another piece of the jigsaw so players can go to clubs where we have connections with and that will help us stay in touch.’’