By MARC HINTON - RugbyHeaven | Tuesday, 06 May 2008
Putting aside the much bigger issue for a moment, New Zealand rugby could be on the verge of a crisis in the all-important first five-eighths position.
With Nick Evans having declared he's off to Harlequins, on a two and a-half year deal said to be worth £1 million ($NZ2.5m) and Dan Carter mulling over a shorter-term offer at close to $2 million a year, New Zealand rugby is staring a harsh reality in the face. And it's not a pretty picture.
It is that the All Blacks, by the next internationals season at the very latest, will have neither Carter nor Evans to call on to guide them through the testing 80-minute passage of a top-line test match. That sentence, at this stage of proceedings, should only be spoken in hushed tones.
There is still hope that Carter can be retained, with the Crusaders star confirming on Monday he had yet to make up his mind regarding his future beyond this year. But the writing – or rather the zeroes in his pay-packet – appears to be on the wall.
The NZRU are desperate to retain Carter's services in one form or another, and if he can't be kept in this country they are prepared to grant a dangerous precedent and give him carte blanche for an immediate re-entry to the All Blacks as soon as he becomes available again.
This so-called Sabbatical Clause, or as it's more popularly known the Carter Rule, is dubious in both its merit and effect, but it does reflect how desperate the NZRU are. They know they can't compete with the sort of money Toulon, Toulouse and now Saracens and Northampton are prepared to throw at Carter. So at least they're thinking outside the square a little.
In Carter's case they're prepared to waive the qualification rule that says you must be playing your rugby in New Zealand to be selected for the All Blacks to encourage him to take a shorter-term deal that could see him back in the black jersey sooner rather than later. That's how desperate they are.
And here's why: Stephen Brett and Stephen Donald.
Neither are what you might call cast-iron test match players. Brett is inexperienced and still finding his feet as a No 10 at the Super 14 level, let alone the test one. He's promising, no doubt, but could definitely do with a year or two more in his apprenticeship. There's even a school of thought that he'd be better learning the ropes at No 12 before moving into the pivot.
Donald has more miles on the clock and has a bit more X-factor about him than Brett. But he's also wildly inconsistent, as evidenced by last week's case of the yips at the worst possible time for the Chiefs in Perth. To think of the enigmatic Chiefs No 10 having to make the key decisions down the closing stages of a major test is not exactly reassuring.
Beyond this pair the cupboard is not exactly bulging at the seams either. The Highlanders have had a revolving door policy at 10 this year, the Hurricanes are still trying to work out which of Willie Ripia or Jimmy Gopperth is their best bet and the Blues' alternative, Isa Nacewa, is neither available for the All Blacks nor sticking around anyway.
Evans, who admitted that his early declaration of intentions could harm his chances of All Black selection come June 1, reckons there's no need to panic. But that's easy for him to say when he's heading to The Stoop to play his footy. (As an aside one mischievous reporter tested Evans' knowledge of his new home ground this week and nearly found him out. "Just next to Twickenham, nice neighbourhood from what I hear," he answered.)
Added Evans: "This happened when Mehrts and Carlos went overseas, and it wasn't long before Dan Carter, the best in the world, stepped up and took their position. There's some outstanding talent in this country.
"I'm sure over the next number of years they'll come up and fill those positions."
But even Evans had to admit that the succession plan at the Blues had been caught a little short.
He mentioned the name of Lachie Munro, who's unproven, but had to admit it could be a case of the Blues filling the spot from outside. "There are a lot of good players around the country that can fill those positions. I did the same when Tony Brown left down at the Highlanders. I don't think it will be long before someone comes along and does that up here."
In the meantime All Blacks coach Graham Henry has some thinking to do. Carter looks a certainty to be the All Black No 10, fitness permitting, in the upcoming international season regardless of his intentions beyond 2008.
But what of Evans? Would it not be better to start the grooming process with either Brett or Donald now? Harsh call on Evans maybe, but he is turning his back on the black jersey. No one owes him anything in New Zealand rugby.
If Brett and/or Donald are to be entrusted with the playmaker's role in the All Blacks for 2009 and beyond, it's imperative that their education is fast-tracked. There's no time like the present to start schooling them up on what it takes to succeed at the highest level.
Evans may well have realised that when he remarked at the Blues training ground on Monday that he could yet leave for his Quins contract earlier than year-end: "I've got a few out-clauses in my contract, and it obviously depends on what happens on June 1."
That's when the All Blacks squad for 2008 will be named. When we will see just who's being groomed as the first five of the new era. These are both calamitous and exciting times.
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