All Blacks coach Scott Robertson, closing out the autumn tour, opened the discussion to a change in eligibility. Which would be a small revolution in the New Zealand Rugby landscape.
It was a call for openness launched by Scott Robertson at the end of the All Blacks' autumn streak. The coach, after the unconvincing victory acquired in Turin against Italy (29-11), announced at a press conference: “We don't want to be behind a cycle or a few years. Professional rugby is constantly evolving. Let's keep an open mind and see what lies ahead. I will definitely present.” What he implies is simple, it is the opening of the New Zealand selection to players based abroad. Currently, the federation of the country with the long white cloud prohibits any selection of a player not under contract. A way to limit the departure of players towards more lucrative championships such as the Top 14 or the Japanese League One.
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The “presentation” would be aimed at NZR leaders to try to convince them. The argument for “Razor” is as follows: “If we take the example of South Africa, they have the opportunity to use a lot of experienced players who are looked after and managed until their thirties, which allows them to have a good balance. In addition, their squad is large, they can field two very high quality teams of 15.”
As a reminder, the South African model allows players to play in a club abroad and still remain eligible to wear the Bok jersey. In the New Zealand case, this would greatly weaken the franchises participating in Super Rugby Pacific, their finances being far from the level offered in Europe or Japan. This is why coach Scott Robertson knows that we must find an intermediate solution, comparable to the functioning of Australia or Wales. That is to say that the most experienced players, already having a certain number of capes, could then export and still apply for selection. To be continued…
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