Marshall unsure at what the future lies

Still without a clue where or who he’ll be playing for next year Benji Marshall insists he’s no regrets about demanding an early release from the final two years of his Wests Tigers contract.

Marshall announced last month he will leave the NRL at the end of the season to take up a career in rugby union.

But the expected clamour of interest for his services from the 15-man game has not quite materialised as he may have expected.

Discussions with Auckland Blues coach John Kirwan haven’t gone beyond an introductory meeting where the Super Rugby side expressed a lukewarm interest in signing the 28-year-old.

The NSW Waratahs and Melbourne Rebels have also made tentative enquiries to his manager Martin Tauber but neither have tabled a formal offer for his services.

However, Marshall denied on Thursday he may have painted himself into a corner by snubbing an upgraded deal from the Tigers believed to be in the region of $750,000 a year.

His decision followed months of negotiations between the joint-venture and the former Kiwi Test captain who refused to accept anything less than the $1m a season he’d originally been offered following a handshake agreement with previous chief executive Stephen Humphreys.

Any potential deal with an Australian Super Rugby side wouldn’t be topped up by the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) as he would be unavailable for Wallabies selection and Marshall re-iterated his vow to never pull on a gold jersey again on Thursday.

“I’ve done that before at schoolboy level and I’ve said it before, it just didn’t feel right watching the Haka being done to me,” Marshall.

“And I stand by that because I grew up in New Zealand and proud Kiwi and playing Australian Schoolboys in rugby league it was a tough decision and it was even tougher having to face the Haka and having to face your country, so that won’t be happening again.”

A move to Auckland would see him earn far less than what the Tigers are offering and he wouldn’t receive any extra funding from the NZRU as he is not an All Blacks player.

He would also lose a number of third-party endorsements in Sydney including a contract with the Nine Network’s The Footy Show.

Should he move back across the Tasman, his best chance to make big cash from a sport he last played when he was 16 would be to move to Japan at the conclusion of next year’s Super Rugby campaign.

But despite all the uncertainty Marshall insists he’s comfortable with his decision.

“It’s not really worrying about finding a contract, if that all happens within the midst of playing it happens,” he said.

“But until that happens there’s no point talking about ifs and buts until I know.

“I don’t have any regrets. Obviously things haven’t worked out the way I would have liked them to but a decision’s been made to move on and everyone’s got to accept that.

“Whatever decision I do make is going to be based upon what I think is going to be best for our life and our future.

“I’m 28 now so the years are running away a bit so I’ve got to make the most of what I can.”