A closer look at NZR's Harlequins partnership

When New Zealand Rugby CEO Steve Tew and Harlequins chief executive Dave Ellis announced their respective establishments had formed a unique agreement, new grounds within the realm of rugby had been broken.

Never has a national governing body within the sport of rugby formed such an allegiance with an overseas club, especially a club based in the heart of England, one of New Zealand’s fiercest rivals.

Along with various other benefits, the number one motivating factor for NZR to initiate and sign this deal was to limit the number of All Blacks heading offshore, and monitor those who do intend on leaving for a larger pay cheque.

This comes after NZR lost a vast array of All Blacks to overseas clubs in the UK, Europe, and Japan since 2017.

Jerome Kaino, Aaron Cruden, Charlie Faumuina, Tawera Kerr-Barlow, Lima Sopoaga, Malakai Fekitoa, and Steven Luatua headline the Kiwi exodus from the past two seasons.

Other departures in the form of Seta Tamanivalu, George Moala, Charlie Ngatai, James Lowe, Cory Jane, Liam Messam, Hika Elliot, Rene Ranger, Brad Shields, and Blade Thomson have significantly chewed away at the depth that both the All Blacks and New Zealand rugby in general are famed for.

Details of what this new pact between NZR and Harlequins will entail are yet to be solidified publicly, but it has been hinted at that in-demand Kiwis could take up lucrative sabbaticals with the London-based club.

Those who take up such a sabbatical would be monitored from New Zealand by onlooking national selectors, who would presumably have some degree of control over their player’s workloads.

With their pockets full of cash, and their workloads managed to a level that NZR authorities are satisfied with, players could then return home with their spot in the national set-up still available to them.

While Harlequins are the first foreign club that NZR have publicly aligned with since the mass exodus of talent from these shores, other clubs are expected to follow suit and form a similar partnership in the short-term future.

Credit must be given to Tew and his employees for brainstorming such an innovative and unparalleled scheme as they continue to fight for the retention of their players.

However, there is the unwavering feeling that these partnerships are the first major steps being made by NZR towards the unfavourable prospect of players being selected whilst playing for overseas teams.

While it is deemed to be sustainable for some rugby nations across the globe to install a policy whereby players playing club rugby outside of their homeland can still be selected for their national teams, the same cannot be said for New Zealand.

The wealth that exists within the foreign domestic leagues makes it plausible for the national teams of these countries to select offshore-based players, as their domestic clubs will always have the financial competitiveness to lure back these players.

It is important for nations that only select internally that their clubs have these financial capabilities, as the domestic league of any given country is often the backbone of their national side.

Take England for example. The Aviva Premiership is one of the wealthiest and glitziest leagues on the planet, combining a huge influx of global stars earning large pay cheques with a plethora of talented English players.

The result is an incredibly successful national team that consists of well-paid players that ply their trade exclusively in England, meaning they are exposed to both local and foreign talent, suitably preparing them for international rugby.

Unfortunately, NZR do not possess the wealth of the Aviva Premiership, nor do they have the riches of the French Top 14 or Japan’s Top League.

Instead, they possess both the Mitre 10 Cup and Super Rugby, both of which are financially poor leagues by comparison.

The Mitre 10 Cup and Super Rugby are fundamental components in the New Zealand rugby landscape, and they play a massive role in developing local talent into world superstars.

Both competitions are the backbone of New Zealand’s national team, and this is reflected in the global dominance the All Blacks have had since the turn of the decade.

For all the good that these competitions provide, neither of them are prominent financially.

The maximum amount a player can earn in the Mitre 10 Cup is $55,000 a year, while the maximum Super Rugby retainer is $195,000 per season.

There are some exceptions for New Zealand’s top players, but the majority of those are restricted to the Super Rugby and Mitre 10 Cup retainers.

This pales in comparison to the luxuries of the overseas leagues. Dan Carter is the highest paid Kiwi in world rugby, raking in $2.44 million per year in the Top 14 with Racing 92.

Elsewhere, former All Black Charles Piutau pockets $878,000 in the Pro14 with Northern Irish club Ulster, while Lima Sopoaga is set to earn around $1.14 million annually with Wasps in the Aviva Premiership.

Throw Beauden Barrett’s reported $3.4 million-a-year offer to play in France into the mix, and it paints a clear picture as to how financially inferior NZR is compared to their northern hemisphere counterparts.

While NZR’s deal with Harlequins appears to be somewhat of a solution to this predicament, there is an overriding sense that this partnership has opened the possibility of All Blacks eventually being selected while permanently based in Europe and Japan.

That is a policy that has not been publicly approved by NZR as of yet, but with the consistent flow of outgoing All Blacks heading to the Top 14, Aviva Premiership, Pro14, and the Top League, it is difficult to see Tew and his colleagues not being tempted by an overseas selection policy.

What needs to be considered is what effect that would have on Super Rugby and the Mitre 10 Cup.

Should an overseas selection policy be approved, the floodgates would well and truly open for New Zealand players looking to cash in on their playing abilities.

Rich English, French, and Japanese clubs would snap up the likes of Barrett, Rieko Ioane, Sam Cane, and Brodie Retallick if they are given the option of multiplying their salaries while still being able to play test rugby.

Joining them would be a large number of other professionals of the game in New Zealand, and in turn, the quality of Super Rugby and the Mitre 10 Cup would diminish.

With New Zealand Super Rugby sides effectively turning into under-23 teams, and the Mitre 10 Cup basically transforming into an under-20 competition, the backbone that supports and provides the All Blacks with their stars and success would disappear.

While the agreement struck with Harlequins by NZR may turn out to be a successful and prosperous one, there is just as much chance of it steering rugby in New Zealand towards the wrong direction.

Should Tew and his men eventually announce a policy whereby players can be picked for the All Blacks while earning top dollar salaries in the northern hemisphere, it will have stemmed from this partnership signed with one of the Aviva Premiership’s most reputable clubs.

It is when that announcement is made should the question be asked if NZR are really getting what they want from this partnership?

Only time will tell, but from a personal standpoint, other alternatives to prevent mass exoduses to foreign lands should be explored before it comes to the selection of overseas-based All Blacks.