Masoe and Weepu look north

New Zealand loose forward Chris Masoe has not demanded an early termination of his central contract, according to his agent Bruce Sharrock.

New Zealand loose forward Chris Masoe has not demanded an early termination of his central contract, according to his agent Bruce Sharrock.

A report emanating from Britain suggested that Masoe had been so upset at learning of his omission from the All Blacks' wider training squad via a telephone message that he wanted out of his New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) deal.

Sharrock denied that the Hurricanes star was offended by slight, but admitted that his client might be heading north in the near future.

“Chris is not seeking an early release,” he said.

“He's had a release option in his contract for the past two years and whether or not he exercises that remains to be seen.”

Sharrock added that another of his clients – fellow AB discard Piri Weepu – was also looking at overseas options.

“These type of players [always] have people knocking on the door, so what we do is re-ignite the interest and see if it's genuine,” Sharrock told The Dominion Post.

If Masoe and Weepu do go it will leave the Hurricanes with some serious holes to fill, given Jerry Collins's decision to quit New Zealand rugby and back Shannon Paku's move to French club Montauban.

Fly-half Jimmy Gopperth, wing Hosea Gear and loose forward Thomas Waldrom are also believed to be considering their options.

Waldrom has made no secret of the fact he is frustrated at the lack of game-time he has had at the Super 14 franchise, while Gear faces stiff competition from Auckland's David Smith who recently signed for Wellington, one of the provinces that makes up the Hurricanes franchise.

Gopperth spent the latter part of the Hurricanes' season on the bench after rising star Willie Ripia became the preferred choice of coach Colin Cooper.