Club angry as lock’s star turn refused

Highlanders lock Manaaki SelbyRickit’s failed attempt to play a club game in Southland has prompted the Star Rugby Club to fire up at Rugby Southland.

However, Rugby Southland general manager Steve Mitchell said the club’s angst is misguided.

With the Highlanders having the weekend off before the start of the trans-Tasman Super Rugby competition, Selby-Rickit contacted Star’s premier team manager, Andrew McHugh, on Thursday saying he was available to play on Saturday.

Selby-Rickit was aligned to the Taieri club in Dunedin but with

Taieri having a bye on Saturday, Star organised with Taieri for a transfer, which was sorted.

Star named the 24-year-old Ma¯ori All Black on the bench against Blues on Saturday.

However, on the day of the game, McHugh was told by SelbyRickit that he wasn’t able to play.

McHugh claims Selby-Rickit, who had been attached to the Star club since 2017, had been given clearance from the Highlanders, but that changed after Rugby Southland got involved on Friday.

Mitchell said that was not the case. He said he did contact Highlanders chief executive Roger Clark on Friday night asking if Clark was aware that Selby-Rickit planned to play in

Southland the next day.

Clark told Mitchell he wasn’t aware of that, and added that it would not be happening.

Mitchell pointed to a franchise policy requiring contracted Highlanders players must play their club rugby in Dunedin.

The policy was in place for various reasons, including to ensure players were close to Highlanders medical staff if something happened.

This is why Stags fullback Josh Moorby is now playing for the Dunedin Rugby Club rather than for his Woodlands club in Southland.

Mitchell said granting clearance would have ‘‘opened a can of worms’’ in regard to the possibility of other Super Rugby players popping up in Southland.

McHugh felt Rugby Southland should be doing everything it could to get Super Rugby level players playing in Southland.

He said it helped lift the standard of the competition and added interest to club rugby.

On social media, the Star Rugby Club apologised on

Saturday for initially indicating that Selby-Rickit would be appearing.

‘‘Apologies to all our schoolboys and club followers who were looking forward to the rare sight of a Super Rugby player participating in club rugby in Southland,’’ the post says.

The post also voiced frustration that Rugby Southland management had not contacted anyone at Star following their dialogue with the Highlanders on Friday.

Mitchell said it was a matter between Selby-Rickit and his employer, the Highlanders, and felt it was Selby-Rickit’s responsibility to contact Star to advise them that he would not be available.

Rugby Southland says granting clearance would have ‘‘opened a can of worms’’.