Re: Did the All blacks Miss Lomu ?

On 3 Dec 2003 02:52:45 -0800, [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Ian Diddams) wrote:

>Greig Blanchett <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message 
>
>> Make no
>> mistake - England's current position in world rugby is built on the
>> contributions of ringers and blow-ins as surely as if Team England had
>> poached them itself.
>
>Works for me!
>
>And more fool those players h9ome unios then that didn't keep them
>away from perfidious albion!!
>
>The French are now doing the same thing.  France for 2007 then!
>
>didds

It's true though - NZ does not have the money to retain players so
ever since rugby went pro, there's been a drain of talent. The last
time NZ was really good at rugby was when the last of the old amateurs
were still playing - the Brookes, the Jones's, Fitzpatrick, Bunce etc.
If Z Brooke had grown up in a fully pro environment, he would never
have played for the All Blacks - he would have been off to Japan or
the UK as soon as he was capable. Brooke was one of Packer's bully
boys trying to sign up the elite of world rugby immediately after the
'95 RWC for Packer's rugby circus more or less forcing the hand of the
SH unions to go pro. He's never been shy about admitting he's only in
it for the money. So now NH club players benefit from playing
alongside these guys on a weekly basis where once this was the
preserve of test players or New Zealand club and provincial players.
Personally, I think the NZRU should open the floodgates completely and
let NZ players playing abroad be eligible for the All Blacks - since
things went pro, these are the guys who are being exposed to higher
levels of skill for longer periods of time, not the guys back home
duking it out in the S12 and NPC.