The migration of southern hemisphere players to northern hemisphere leagues has been increasingly common in the last few years.
Rare southern hemisphere international players who have not had an overseas stint during their rugby career.
The reasons for this trend have been discussed ad nausea: lucrative contracts, a different lifestyle, a unique cultural experience, and now the perspective of playing one of the most attractive competitions on the planet, the Heineken Cup.
Let’s be honest, they are all very valid reasons. Who wouldn’t want to live and play in London, South France, Tokyo or Cardiff for a while, eat croissants and ‘pains au chocolat’ or sip a London Pride (pint thereof) with the locals and get very well paid for that?
Time to look at the reverse situation: northern hemisphere players coming ‘down under’ to enjoy our lifestyle and rugby. Yes, a rare sight indeed. Why?
We all know that the ARU, NZRU and SARU have often been accused of being ‘over-protective’ when it comes to foreign import in their Super 15 franchises, and rightly so. Fair enough.
Thing is, results prove one thing: it worked. Whether we want it or not, the professional era has been dominated by the three Southern Hemisphere superpowers and their policies are certainly not foreign to that. Well done.
However, the ‘real’ reasons why French, English, Irish or Georgian players are not coming to play Super Rugby might be elsewhere: their rugby abilities and adaptability to the rugby played here. To be blunt, we don’t want them here as they aren’t good enough, next.
Need an example? I’ll give you two. Danny Cipriani and Freddy Michalak.
Both of them are on their way back to Europe after this year’s Super 15 (Sale and Toulon respectively) and had hoped their last Super Rugby season would be an enjoyable and successful one.
It’s fair to say it has not gone as planned so far; Cipriani’s defence has again been exposed on many occasions this year while his, until now undeniable, attacking prowess has been seriously questioned lately. Worse, there is now an impact on other players as they have lost confidence in his abilities to defend.
James O’Connor and the others in the back-line have now started to anticipate a possible or even probable missed-tackle, or even absence of tackle sometimes, from Cipriani, leaving their direct opponent unmarked.
And the stats don’t lie: O’Connor’s missed-tackle ratio has substantially increased since joining the Rebels ( O’Connor has already missed more tackles in 2012 (18) than he did all season last year, 17). Not the kind of influence you expect from a marquee-player.
How about Michalak? The Frenchman started the season at n9 alongside Pat Lambie, had a few mediocre games and was replaced by Charl McLeod who never looked back since. Michalak is now playing the last 10-15 minutes off the bench, with no much success either.
His flair, which worked at Currie Cup level, isn’t doing anything in super rugby and his teammates often misread his intentions. His passing game, which is still sharp and clean, rarely finds the right player, the one likely to go all the way to the try-line.
And to not be able to ‘read’ the game for a scrum-half just means one thing: you don’t belong here.
It’s fair to say that he has shown commitment in defence and is definitely not as tackle-shy as his English counterpart in Melbourne. Yet, not really an ideal farewell to finish your South African career on the bench for a guy who said he has loved playing for the Sharks (so much that he came back for more after a first stint in 2008).
So what went wrong? Is it the more laid-back attitude and lifestyle in the south that makes it hard to commit in defence and play hard? Or the relative absence of pressure from supporters in Melbourne and Durban? Might be simpler than that.
Although both of them can be brilliant at times and still ‘have the rugby’ to throw a fantastic blind-pass or a sharp, flat one that will expose opponents’ defence, they might not have the right level for Super Rugby after all. Both have been given a chance, a couple of years to adapt and offer the type of rugby they were signed for. And they failed to deliver.
No northern hemisphere bashing here; our players don’t always perform up-north either. Ask Toulon supporters what they think of Jerry Collins or Parisians what Radike Samo brought to the club. For one Rocky Elsom, Brock James or Joe van Niekerk, you have many Collins, Samo etc…
The number of ‘European’ cattle playing in Australia, South Africa and New Zealand (who remembers French international prop Christian Califano’s stint at the Blues in 2002?) being scarce, it’s hard to make a valid opinion on what could really bring a top northern hemisphere player to a Super Rugby franchise.
One thing is certainm none of them has been a stand-out while playing our competition so far.
The Cipriani and Michalak experience having been a lukewarm success at best, it may take some time before we see the Roberts, Flood or Parra on our shores.
Dublin Dave
Guest
I see there's been a potentially significant poaching of Southern Hemipshere talent announced today. Some guy called Rob Penney has been hired to be Munster's new head coach next season. Should we smug Leinster fans be worried?
Sharminator
Roar Rookie
England does have a limit on foreign players ... only 2 non-European players can be on the field at any time in English rugby. This rule actually applies to Premiership rugby all the way down to local rugby clubs. However, this quota does not include Pacific Islanders or South Africans because of the Kolpak ruling ... a ruling about a Serbian handball players, that allows people from developing countries to come to Europe to play any sport including rugby. This rule was why for example that Matt Burke applied for a British Passport when playing for Newcastle (one of his parents was Englsh) so that they could fit in more foreign players.
Sharminator
Roar Rookie
and baguettes ....
Sharminator
Roar Rookie
It is interesting that the number of big name players moving to English Premiership clubs has been decreasing in recent years. There are a couple of Australians in the Aviva Premiership who were not even Super rugby players in Australia. One of them is fly half at exeter .. cant remember his name. It seems that the English clubs no longer have the money to be able to affored seasoned SANZAR international players, meanwhile French rugby is dominated by Foreign players. I remember reading somewhere last year that in the entire Top 14 one weekend, across all 14 teams there were only 3 props starting who were qualified to play for France!
Sharminator
Roar Rookie
"Domestic competitions is where the future money will come from as this provides a weekly outlet for fans rather than one off internationals in citys." ??? "The main Heinekin cup teams now have enough money and fans to deter even the best players away from international opportunitys." ??? Ummm ... no and no ... You have no idea what you are talking about.
Colin N
Guest
There doesn't 'have to be' English players in a club's squad per se, but they get money if they have 13 or more English qualified players in their 23-man squad. It's one of the few good things the RFU have negotiated in past few years!! The net result is more talented young English players are getting game time.
Bakkies
Guest
I think there has to be a certain amount of English players in each match day squad in the AP. In the Top 14 it's the ridiculous kolpak rule that teams like Toulon abuse. Saffers and PIs are brought in as locals
Bakkies
Guest
More like Noves gave him more opportunities than he deserved.
Sircoolalot
Guest
Just in case people don't know. Haskell was supposed to sign for the Reds on a bigger contract, but the "incident" in the world cup pretty much stopped any chance of that happening.
Sircoolalot
Guest
Russia will be much bigger than the US and much quicker as well. I doubt the US is going to somehow explode as most people seem to think either.
Sircoolalot
Guest
But Colin didn't you hear? All SH coaches are great, while NH coaches are evil and only after results...
jeznez
Roar Guru
That is great news (as a fan, probably not so good for the guys trying to make a living)
jeznez
Roar Guru
Sylvain Marconnet - one of my favourites, I thought he was an outstanding prop although Califano tends to get more plaudits.
Derm
Roar Guru
Typical European. Bringing facts to a hype-fight….
Derm
Roar Guru
Typical European. Bringing facts to a hype-fight....
Intotouch
Guest
France introduced a quota of French qualified players for each pro rugby team last year. This quota will be increased over the next couple of years. Ireland has reduced it's quota. England is the only country that doesn't have a limit on foreign players but the RFU gives money to each club that produces/ hires English players. In other words the opposite of what this article said is true and over the next few years there will be a decrease in imports into European rugby clubs.
Colin N
Guest
"Regarding Michalak not stepping up at that time, some might argue, i am one of them, that Noves didnt give him the opportunity he deserved. Then its all very subjective." By that logic, perhaps Plumtree isn't giving Michalak the opportunity he deserves?
Rugby Fan
Roar Guru
Then again, Haskell's situation came about because he was unexpectedly cut by Stade Francais in June 2011. Martin Johnson hadn't announced his World Cup squad at that time but Haskell was going to feature, which meant he would be unavailable for the opening rounds of competitions in the North. That didn't make it impossible to secure another berth in France or England but Stade's timing cut down his options. Haskell also wasn't ready for a return to the Premiership, having enjoyed the experience of playing abroad. I suspect he came up with the Japan/NZ plan on the fly, while looking to secure his Premiership contract for the following season. He certainly didn't arrange it all 12 months in advance. It's difficult, then, to see Haskell's activities being a template. He was already playing abroad, and it was only because he was cut before he planned to return, that he went South. It also worked in his favour that he could do so straight after a World Cup. As a result, he only missed one season of Test rugby and has three more to see if he can get back in the team. He might even have a shot at a Lions place, although there are plenty of players ahead of him in the pecking order right now. Moreover, he's chosen to return to Wasps. Since he made that decision, they've gone into a tailspin. They could yet be relegated, or face a points penalty if they become insolvent. Haskell feels a lot of loyalty to his old club but circumstances might mean he'll need to look elsewhere to restart his international career. Top internationals in the North all have an eye on the World Cup but the Lions four year cycle is also a consideration. If you aren't playing in the Six Nations tournament the year before each, the chances of winning a squad place are probably very small. The season straight after a World Cup is really the only window available to do what Haskell did, and it was just chance that he was in that position. It's tough to see anyone actively making a long term plan for a similar stint. The only other English player in Japan is Haskell's Wasps teammate Dave Walder. He plays for Mitsubishi Dynaboars, who aren't in the Top League competition, so Walder was clearly looking for a way to see out his career. He also had an itch to play abroad: Wasps arranged a loan deal with North Harbour back in 2008 but he picked up an injury.
allblackfan
Guest
Johnno, it's also another way of increasing awareness and increasing revenue (the US is not a traditional rugby market so it offers new opportunities). I'm surprised that they do it. Does the ARU do it? As for those two countries you mentioned, georgia's population is only 4.7 m and ireland's 6.7 m so these are hardly big countries. As for coaching depth -- coaching is like a pyramid; the higher up you go, the narrower it gets. A team may have 22 players but only one coach. Besides, look who's coming through the ranks -- Rennie, Hammond, (?!?), Joseph, Wayne Pivac (NPC) etc. Not to mention you can't discount the likes of Deans, Gatland, Crowley (although you can Plumtree and Mitchell)
Ben S
Roar Guru
Fair enough, OK - regarded as big names in the NH. They were right on the downward curve of their careers, and nowhere near the top names in their positions at that juncture. If they had played Super rugby like Peter Clossehy had in the mid to lat 90s then fair enough...