Keeping Smith top priority for the All Blacks
Administrators must do what they can to retain the services of invaluable Highlanders fullback, reports Marc Hinton.
OPINION: Steve Tew has a to-do list that would make your toes curl. He’s got to scrap and claw for New Zealand’s place in the new global rugby order, he has to bring the leadership of the Kiwi game into the 21st century with a female boardroom presence, he has a faltering image issue to address and, of course, a Lions tour to cash in on.
But top of his list has to be the retention of Ben Smith, one of three off-contract senior All Blacks being wooed by the cashedup clubs of France, England and Ireland. It might be the most important thing the New Zealand Rugby chief executive does over the next few months, and that is definitely saying something.
Smith, Israel Dagg and Aaron Cruden are all at the end of their current deals with NZR, and thus are men in demand at the elite levels of Europe. Still-in-theirprime All Blacks willing to step away from home are the most valuable of species, for club owners well know these men are in no danger of being whisked away to play or train for their country at inopportune times.
They are gold nuggets for the likes of Toulon owner Mourad Boudjellal, and they’re prepared to pay accordingly for them, armed with ramped up broadcasting money, deep pockets and egos that don’t accept no for an answer.
So Tew has some heavyhanded competition to deal with. Truth be told they’re rivals he can’t match, either, in pure financial terms. Nothing has changed there and, if anything, the discrepancy is growing between what elite New Zealand rugby players can earn offshore, and what they can be paid to stay loyal to the All Blacks.
Did we mention there are parts of Tew’s job that are decidedly tricky?
Anyway, Tew has one outcome that’s a must as he and chief negotiator Chris Lendrum put their offers together.
He has to find a way to keep Smith in the All Blacks jersey. That’s a bottom line for the New Zealand Rugby boss who has been remarkably successful in player retention. Think of key All Blacks he’s lost prematurely in the last decade. Not a long list is it? Maybe Charles Piutau. Maybe Nick Evans, going back a ways.
The point is when Tew sets his mind to it he inevitably gets his man. He is helped by the extraordinary pull (and value) of the All Blacks jersey, by a non-selection offshore policy that is one of the central planks of the Kiwi game and also by the unabashed loyalty of our finest players.
So, whatever it takes, Tew has to keep Smith around. He is one of the very best All Blacks. If push came to shove, I’d put him alongside Dane Coles, Brodie Retallick, Kieran Read and Beauden Barrett as our most indispensable.
The man simply never has a bad game, is world-class in almost everything he does on a rugby field, is an emerging leader and a fabulous bloke to boot. Throw in that he is the heart and soul of the Highlanders franchise, and a humble, impeccably mannered and hugely regarded individual, and his retention becomes a nobrainer.
Tew won’t break the bank to retain Smith, but he will have to be creative to find a way to compete with his market value. It is imperative he does so, even if it comes at the cost of retaining the other two.
Dagg has made an outstanding return to form after missing last year’s World Cup and has deservedly made his way back into the All Blacks’ preferred back three. But he is dispensable. You have to say that.
Steve Hansen would much, much rather have Dagg, but if he had to box on without him he could make do with the likes of Waisake Naholo, Nehe MilnerSkudder, Damian McKenzie, James Lowe and others on hand to provide options.
It’s a similar story with Cruden who is now clearly playing second fiddle to the fabulous Barrett. It’s a luxury to have him, and he’s possibly only an injury away from being a vital figure again. But with Lima Sopoaga, McKenzie, Richie Mo’unga and no doubt more to come, the All Blacks would not be demonstrably the worse for his absence.
Tew has not had the best of years, with the Chiefs’ Strippergate affair and Losi Filipo assault case handled poorly, and threatening his legacy. There are whispers that for the first time he is being asked some difficult questions by his board.
He could do with a positive story with his stamp on it.
Retaining Ben Smith would fit that bill perfectly.