Cyril Blanchard : « Jean-No, c'est un gros bosseur »

I don't think the 10s are going to be the problem, especially with O'Connor there. Many of the opposition will be in exactly the same circumstance, and I feel it's going to be far more dependent on whether that midfield group actually perform, as it was them who largely let the team down with abject performances last year, a little bit the loose forwards playing to potential as well. They were also lacklustre last year with many of the 'better' players that were able to play the entire season not doing as well as expected from either of those two groups.

Having someone like Hotham come on and really be a threat later on was a huge boon, but really they just need a few good moments from their halves to help round out performances, nothing stella.

Especially that midfield, it's easy to see all four them being complete dudes again, in which case the Saders have no show. Lets hope for at least 2 to be firing at any one time, they're all on the cusp of clicking again (all have shown in the past they are capable) I believe.

Might be doing a disservice to Perofeta here, if you want to treat him as a 10 we can he could include the Blues to make it a 3 hourse race I suppose.

It's a bit of a toss up whether it would be more exciting have these selected before the NPC had started (to build hype and knowing who to focus/following on, or keep these selections purely valued/decided on everyone's form (thus building a much wide but perhaps less penetrating interest) in NPC. Also whether it should be done via a draft selection method for extra content and interest.

Also, if you're going to have 'internal standards' around off field things like DeGroot, then that should be extended to the on-field form and discipline of any player. The fact that ALB got carded so many times and yet would appear the following week (mainly to get carded again) was ridiculous.

Well he is British after all JWH!

Yeah, but they are what you just described Bundee as to Ireland. They could all have left for more money elshewere but instead they chose to represent New Zealand.

Teams like Ireland and Scotland are stopping the game from expanded, they are using an unfair advantage to stay ahead of the teams under them trying to get better.

That is pretty much the only reason why we have the current guidelines, everyone wanted to swap every other year based on form and it became too much (I have no idea if that's true!).

But this is only an issue in the North, all the players of some kind of PI descent often play for the country which makes the most sense for them.

Yeah, the only real problem is case where money (the North) becomes the deciding factor.

I do understand where you're coming from though (as what you're thinking was the case a while ago), but the world is changing more. Take this Sotutu England situation, this is becoming less and less likely from happening (at least in this example anyway), as the England Rugby union is not more in charge of payments and not seen as just icing on the cake to a massive club deal (that's how the English game got itself broke in the first place), and nations like Ireland have stated they are no longer going to look offshore etc. So the landscape is improving slowly.

This is all hypothetical remember. Sotutu is most likely to become a key All Black this year as he's the perfect foil a team with tyro's like Sititi, Lakai, Savea is going to need.

But most of the rest of them, including the likes of Luatua and Piutau, it's a complete joke. Filling the Samoan and Tongan national sides with Kiwi's (and a few Aussies) who chased the money and are now having their cake and eating it too hasn't made them any more competitive, if anything, they've gone backwards. It's not for their benefit anyway, it's mostly the NH sides filled with SH born and developed talent that are keen on these rules.

When Augustine Pichot ran and wanted to have tougher criteria, NZ backed him, and the 'Islands' and NH nations backed the status-quo with Beaumont. Easy to see why when you crunch the numbers on players imported into national sides in their 20's after another nation has brought them through, usually to Super level.

Like Nick Bishop suggests, he was lucky enough to have options, fight for a sole cap (like Harry Plummer) wasn't the only thing on his radar. It is an accepted/ingrained aspect of rugby in NZ that players acknowedge their station (as they have lots of choices given money isn't strong to stay).

I doubt Sotutu would represent England either, they have to be one of the most stacked nations for flankers already, far more likely to be an AB. Plus (if he were to play for England this year) they would have to spend a huge amount to get him out of that declaration contract with NZR and they are already skint.

It does raise the interesting question of what sort of ratio/balance England players make up their pay from now, it has heavily increased towards International side (even if they don't win caps)? That would make it even hard, has previoulsy I think most people switching (like Shields) just viewed playing for England as icing on the cake, and the club deals themselves had to provide compeling (money) reason to leave NZ.

The three examples I'm most excited about would be if Sotutu signs in Japan with a view to playing at the highest level with Fiji (easy to see he will only be a bit part All Black unless things really go his way) in time for 2027 (NZR could even work out a 'fair play' deal with Fiji and Japan to allow him to represent earlier), and I think Shaun Stevenson has some island (Samoa) eligibility and could play from next year, alongside Ioane. Currently the Island teams are still not getting much respect from their players, and possibly that due to the unions themselves prioritizing local and WC focus, so with WR stepping up and returning the PNC with some meaning, in line for the Nations Cup, it's a great time for NZ and Australia to step up and take a lead too. Really get involved in raising profile say a tournament in Melbourne (who provide a local team themselves) that has like a Maori All Black quality invitation side included to raise the PNCs profile.

Even someone like Bower is well in the All Black frame still, but why not NZR say do a deal with Japan (for the local scene) and Fiji, say along the lines of the recent Stevenson deal with he plays both the JRLO and most of Super Rugby. He is a bit of a talisman, doing the All Black social videos during the Rugby World Cup, he could continue to link well with all three nations, added much needed experience to NZ development sides young players, Captaining the Drua and Fiji, and doing fan engagement work in Japan while playing etc (not sure if he was looking long term into that as a career, it would be good experience). Imagine the quality him, Sotutu, big Gus, drawing more quality in some of Flying Fijian's european stars coming back. Actually allow them to creaet a business product, as currently their ownly value is being opposition to other teams (playing overseas in places like San Diego). Actually give them a competition and players the rest of the world wants to pay money to watch.