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Benji Marshall remains in the Blues’ sights, although coach Sir John Kirwan admits there’s only a slim chance of convincing the West Tigers star to join his New Zealand Super Rugby franchise.
The 28-year-old Marshall, who made his debut with the Tigers 10 years ago, is considering his future at the NRL club and Kirwan has been in contact with his manager, Martin Tauber.
Kirwan says his present focus is on the Blues’ final match of the season against the Chiefs on Saturday night and he is putting issues relating to next year’s squad on hold until next week.
But he concedes luring Marshall to Auckland will be tough.
“I think it will be a hard ask,” he said on Thursday.
One major stumbling block is that the Kiwis five-eighth would need to take a drop in pay.
“It’s going to be a big sacrifice for him financially,” Kirwan said.
“I don’t think we can compete on that side of things, but we have to go through that process.”
Kirwan is also interested in Hurricanes and All Blacks five-eighth Beauden Barrett, who is off contract at the end of the year.
And he wouldn’t be against All Blacks midfielder Ma’a Nonu returning to the Blues, but thought that would be unlikely.
Kirwan didn’t hide his disappointment last October when Nonu confirmed he would be leaving the Blues for the Highlanders, but he indicated that episode was now history.
“We said our piece at the time and we’ve caught up since,” he said.
“I don’t think he would probably look at here, but I wouldn’t close the door on anyone. For me, it’s really important to put the franchise first.”
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.