Kiwi depth will hurt the All Blacks
Taylor takes a look at the impact on the future of New Zealand Rugby after an exodus of players are seeking gains abroad.
Rugby to New Zealand is like cricket to India. Side-stepping your sister down a heavily sloped patch of grass is a superb confidence booster for the impending knee rugby battle in your auntie’s lounge later that day. The immense depth of the New Zealand rugby talent pool is unsurprising when you consider every kiwi kid grows up clutching an oval ball.
However, what was once hidden away behind the pull of a potential All Black jersey has now become an established resource for Northern Hemisphere international rugby. And it may well come back to hurt the All Blacks.
Super Rugby players are being plucked out in their prime and shipped (not literally) abroad in the hope of gaining residency/citizenship and representing another nation; think ‘Welshman’ Gareth Anscombe, ‘Scotsman’ Sean Maitland, ‘Englishman’ Dylan Hartley, ‘Irishman’ Jared Payne… you get the idea.
