Re: Did the All blacks Miss Lomu ?

On Wed, 03 Dec 2003 19:36:31 +0000, Greig Blanchett <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:

[...]

>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.

I take your point, but Brooke was an unmitigated disaster as an
ex-pat, both as a player and as a coach. I didn't realise he was so
money oriented, and that surprises me a bit - although I knew he was
keen on the Packer thing. Perhaps that explains slightly why he did so
poorly over here.

>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.

I think you are exaggerating just a little here!

The big problem would be squad training etc if that happens. Getting
selected would be a big problem when NZ is still following the
principle of getting 'em in early and kicking 'em out young. Assuming
there's no contractual difficulty, just the playing time will kill
them off. Argentina suffered as much from overplaying of their key men
as anything during the WC I thought. Pichot was a shadow of his former
self for example, and I suspect just too much rugby was a big factor.

-- 

Regards,
John Williams