All Blacks great worries Super Rugby is now a ‘pathway’ not a ‘destination’ for top players
All Blacks centre Rieko Ioane and an inset of Jeff Wilson.
Jeff Wilson is concerned that Super Rugby will be ‘worse off’ if New Zealand Rugby does not change the way All Blacks and top players are contracted.
The legendary former winger has urged NZ Rugby to be more flexible as the franchises and competition suffer from the inability to contract top players from around the world.
Additionally, the franchise have a ceiling in what they are able to offer their players, which means that if top talents wish to increase their earnings, they have to head abroad, particularly if they do not get a third-party retainer afforded to All Blacks stars.
Wilson’s comments come off the back of the confirmation that Mark Tele’a will be heading to Japan at the end of the Super Rugby Pacific season, while Rieko Ioane will follow Jordie Barrett in taking up a playing sabbatical opportunity with Leinster next season.
Super Rugby suffers from the sabbaticals
Barrett and Ioane are just the latest All Blacks who have taken up sabbaticals as part of their contract extensions with New Zealand Rugby, with the likes of Sam Cane, Damian McKenzie, Beauden Barrett and Ardie Savea all doing so in the past.
“I’m just wondering at what point does Super Rugby get to a stage where it is actually a fully, truly protected and professional competition in terms of players that are valuable to the competition not leaving and playing offshore,” Wilson said on Sky Sports NZ’s The Breakdown show.
“The Super Rugby clubs having the opportunity and the means to keep our top players here rather than the sabbatical options, because as it sits right now, it’s definitely a pathway, it’s not really a destination.”
He added: “Yes I know it’s a competitive market and we need some sabbaticals to secure players but as long as that keeps happening it’s Super Rugby unfortunately that’s going to suffer because every year whether it’s an Ardie Savea or Rieko Ioane, a Scott Barrett whoever it might be but these top players take their sabbaticals over time at what point do we get past that?”
Wilson pitched a radical change to the way New Zealand Rugby contracts players, suggesting that the ceiling should be removed and that the franchises should be allowed to offer whatever they can afford to players.
Currently, NZ Rugby’s contribution is the largest for top players, and the franchises are restricted in how much they are permitted to offer stars. This means there is little player movement from season to season, and clubs cannot compete with top players if they are not beneficiaries of those additional funds.
“Is there a point where we get past that, where all of a sudden it’s not in the hands of New Zealand Rugby, it’s actually in the hands of our franchises,” Wilson continued.
“So they do have the means to go you know what ‘I want to bring in the best players around the world, I want to be in a position to offer the big dollars to our best players’, so you can shift the needle for your franchise.”
Set-up of All Blacks contracts
Former lock Joe Wheeler, who is now a player agent at Halo Sport, detailed the make-up of these contracts and agreed that the change Wilson suggested would make Super Rugby a better product, but emphasised the need and importance of sabbaticals.
“For the benefit of the viewers, a New Zealand rugby contract set up is in three components so there’s the NPC component, there’s the Super Rugby component and then there’s your New Zealand rugby component which is essentially your All Blacks contract – which is to retain our top talents,” he explained.
“New Zealand Rugby do a fantastic job of keeping our top talent on these shores and sabbaticals play a massive part in making sure that we retain that talent. Yes they go over and they play a season in Japan or in Jordie Barrett’s case, Leinster, but when they come back they’ve obviously earned some money, but also they have to extend their contract to stay here longer term – so that’s a great thing.
“What you are asking is for New Zealand Rugby to forgo the talent in terms of the monetary side of their Super Rugby contract and Super Rugby clubs are in charge of that component which if we want this competition to be what we’ve always intended it to be, the best competition in the world, that might be the next progression down the track which means you need to get some serious investment in behind these teams to be able to one retain all of your top talent but recruit top talent imagine like an Owen Farrell.
“At the moment, you can only pay a max of NZ$195,000 under your salary cap.”
NZ Rugby need to be more flexible
Wilson believes that the cap that NZ teams can offer players means there is little movement between the clubs year-on-year, which results in the same clubs being the strongest, as there is little incentive for top players to trade teams.
Additionally, the All Blacks’ strong stance on eligibility keeps top players on New Zealand shores, but Wilson hopes that is relaxed somewhat, allowing the stars to play for other teams in the competition.
“The rest is paid by New Zealand Rugby in terms of retainers but that’s the point, it is the fact that there’s a max you can’t go over that all of a sudden you’re not shifting the needle you don’t have the ability to go to someone who’s playing for the Blues and go you know what I want you but I can’t offer you anymore unless you go to a third party deal,” Wilson said.
“So at the moment, the means are not there for you as a team to recruit. That’s why when we see the team naming in November, everyone is in the same squads – you don’t see player movement and when you don’t see player movement, you don’t see player movement you don’t see movement in terms of the table.
“Those three franchises (Chiefs, Blues and Crusaders) will clearly have the biggest number of All Blacks, the guys on the biggest retainers from New Zealand Rugby, they’re the ones that actually control the purse strings and the players that the franchises can contract.
“Yes, you can go to another franchise, but there is a limit to what you can do, and I think for me that’s the part I’m still struggling with is at what point you get some flexibility.
“Having it that all players are eligible from teams inside the competition to play for their country and for me if we don’t get to that point at some stage in the future and our ability to keep players here if we don’t get that, this competition is going to be slightly worse off.”
