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The aura and mystique of the All Blacks jersey is something to behold and not to be discounted. The Rugby World Cup is just around the corner and defending champions New Zealand are once again the heavy favourites to lift the William Webb Ellis Cup.
The All Blacks are attempting to hoist rugby’s greatest prize for a record third time and become the first side in history to successfully defend their title.
To date there have been 1137 men to throw on the famous black and white jersey, an extremely exclusive club that over time has proven to be a very tight-knit fraternity.
That elite group has shown no stronger sign of togetherness than this past week, when many All Blacks came out and paid their tributes to the late great Jerry Collins, who died alongside his wife in a tragic car accident in the south of France.
‘The Hitman’ and his wife Alana are survived by their two-month-old baby daughter Ayla, in a moment that reminded us all just how insignificant and yet important rugby can be. Piri Weepu, Richie McCaw, Chris Masoe, among many others, all paid touching tributes to their teammate and late friend, with reports now surfacing in New Zealand that Porirua Mayor Nick Leggett is seriously considering trying to rename Porirua Park to Jerry Collins Memorial Stadium.
Now make no mistake, if an Australian rugby icon died you would expect a near identical response, you only need to look at how the death of Shawn Mackay in 2009 affected the Australian rugby community. But Jerry’s untimely death got me thinking about the great blindside’s career and all that he was able to achieve at both club and international level.
Unfortunately for New Zealand fans, Jerry was the exception to many current All Blacks in the fact that he left the silver and black at the peak of his powers, bowing out of international rugby at the age of 27 to pursue fonder pastures in European club rugby.
Collins’ departure and those like him has been a hot topic of debate in both Australian and New Zealand rugby for the better part of a decade now, with the ARU only recently altering their long-term stance of not allowing foreign-based players to play for the Wallabies.
The ARU trying to stop post-World Cup exoduses to European and Japanese rugby has been about as fruitful as its governments war on piracy – long, expensive and inefficient. It was time for a change and under the current format introduced by ARU chief executive Bill Pulver, Australian players who have played 60 or more Tests and have had an Australian-based Super Rugby contract for longer than seven years, are now eligible for Wallabies selection.
It’s not a complete overhaul but it’s a start, and does not limit Wallaby veterans who are trying to ensure financial security at the end of their careers.
The introduction of foreign eligibility has at least somewhat nullified the divide between club and country for Wallaby veterans and allowed for overseas stars such as Matt Giteau and Drew Mitchell the ability to return home and pull on the green and gold again.
Like the players before them, Mitchell and Giteau knew that opting to play overseas would effectively put an end to their international careers, but the new rules allow for the soon to be departed Will Genia, James Horwill and Adam Ashley-Cooper to continue their Wallabies careers while playing their club rugby in Europe.
It’s a good compromise by the ARU, as it ensures only those who paid their dues in Australian rugby are given the chance to play overseas and still represent their country.
But what does this all have to do with the All Blacks jersey being stronger than that of the Wallabies? Is there a stronger desire for New Zealanders to represent the All Blacks than there is for Australians to represent the Wallabies? Quite the opposite, actually.
Looking back on both nation’s last two World Cup squads, there have been a combined 31 players that have left Super Rugby to ply their trade in Europe and Japan between World Cup periods. That’s more than half of both squads and even more so when you consider the amount of players that played in both the 2007 and 2011 World Cups.
Between the 2007 and 2011 World Cups, there were 11 Wallabies from John Connolly’s 2007 squad that left to play overseas while for New Zealand that number was 15, exactly half of their squad. Between the 2011 and 2015 World Cups, there were eight Wallabies who left to play overseas while the All Blacks doubled this figure with 16 members of their victorious 2011 squad, leaving New Zealand to play overseas at some point.
Clearly, the Wallabies have done a better job at keeping their best players on home soil than the All Blacks have in the last number of years, but of course this data also accounts for pending retirees who go and play in Japan and Europe after international retirement.
We can hardly begrudge George Gregan and Stephen Larkham playing in Japan or Anton Oliver and Brad Thorn playing in Europe after their international retirement, but still the numbers are what they are, and with more than half of the All Blacks squad in the last two World Cups having left to play overseas before the start of the next World Cup, is it a problem in New Zealand rugby?
Their performance this decade says otherwise, but why is that? Does the ARU try harder to keep their top players on home soil than the New Zealand Rugby Union? Is the New Zealand Rugby Union willing to let its top players go because it has greater trust in the players that will fill their boots?
Obviously the money offered abroad is a significant factor in all these decisions and in a lot of cases is the penultimate factor, but the theory that New Zealanders are more passionate about playing for the All Blacks than the Australians are to play for the Wallabies is untrue, especially in the last four years.
While it could be argued from an emotional perspective that it means more for a New Zealander to pull on an All Blacks jersey, the numbers say that more Wallabies stay in Super Rugby than their Kiwi counterparts.
Is it because the Wallaby jersey means more to Australian rugby players than the All Black jersey does to New Zealand players? Possibly, but I believe the higher number of New Zealand players opting to play abroad stems from the New Zealand Rugby Union’s allowance for those players to leave, whereas the ARU has demonstrated time and time again its priorities in retaining top talent.
It’s been a costly mission for Australian rugby’s governors that has had to be altered to adapt to the international rugby marketplace, but at last the ARU will not put an end to the international careers of those who have paid their dues. As for New Zealand, they seem to be doing just fine the way things are.
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.