Reports: Aaron Cruden links with Montpellier on rich deal

'The unions will negotiate bilaterally amongst themselves. The Welsh will negotiate a different deal to the English.' Unlikely. The Kiwis are playing this through the IRB and using the future tours agreement that expires after the next RWC as an ultimatum. The IRFU don't seem to be too pleased about Tew's negotiating tactics.

Agree there ebop, he'd be mad to turn down 1.4 million per annum especially when it will be the easiest money he'll ever make. Folk will dress that up with the sheer grit and ruggedness etc etc of the top 14 but these guys are laughing all the way to the bank. Good on them.

11k? Really? I can see where these guys massive salaries come from then. 11k must have paid for at least a years worth of socks.

You miss the point. The unions will negotiate bilaterally amongst themselves. The Welsh will negotiate a different deal to the English. But you are right that the English can tell the NZRU to sod off. That is the whole point... the NZRU will then indeed sod off. Tew is betting that the English WANT the All Blacks at Twickenham and will eventually pay something for that, if that is what it takes to get them there.

'I seriously doubt they lose money on home games, given they play them almost exclusively at Stade. ' There is a two to three million euro shortfall on the home games due to having to pay ground rental so there is no chance the FFR will give up more money to keep plug Tew happy. There is an agreement to play up to 4 or 5 tests a year so the FFR are shifting away up to 12 million euros each year to the Stade de France operators in rental. There is no creative accounting involved. The FFR threatened to walk away a few years back when the SdF deal had expired. The terms were worse back then compared to now. ' In fact, I imagine most of the other unions probably think the NZRU have got a pretty good idea!' Then it will be thrown in to the bin after seeing the sums they will be throwing away to the Kiwis. The unions only have 5 to 6 big pay days a year from test matches. The WRU have at least 12 to 15 million pounds to pay off the Millennium Stadium why should throw away money that could be used to service their debts? 'and I don’t think Tew expects them to. ' Well that's what he is pushing for. The RFU are right in telling him to sod off.

Sure, fair enough. We're really talking about England aren't we. I don't expect they will pay half the gate either... and I don't think Tew expects them to. That is a starting point for negotiation, to make the point. Bakkies, you write that you'd like to see your money going back into supporting the development of the game in your own country. My point is that what we are seeing now is the start of a trend whereby what that means in practice is the richer unions are buying in talent from outside the country. To be clear, I mean that this appears to be the start of a trend, not that we are in that situation already. Of course it has been going on for a while now but, going back to my first comment, I think this is the first time we have seen "first choice" All Blacks being tempted out of NZ in the middle of a World Cup cycle. And the kiwis may well end up buggering off to Chicago as you say... that is entirely the point Tew is trying to make. And if at that point everyone else is playing them but England are not, at some point someone is going to blink. The problem for England, a point you make yourself, is that they are not going to get much of a sympathetic ear from the other unions when it comes to matters of money. In fact, I imagine most of the other unions probably think the NZRU have got a pretty good idea!

I seriously doubt they lose money on home games, given they play them almost exclusively at Stade. They would be long since bankrupt losing that much per game and getting nothing for away games. That or there is some very creative accounting going on that the French tax department might want a look at. You could rent Wembley Stadium for less than €1M.

The RFU are quiet right in refusing to give up half their gate revenue to the begging bowl. If the Kiwis came with that attitude they can bugger off and play in Boston or Chicago. The SRU and WRU are in debt and can't afford to give up half their gate. The WRU are also struggling to shift tickets to the AIs. I would simply refuse to go to an AI if my hard earned wasn't going to go back in to developing the game in my own country. The FFR aren't wealthy either (the clubs are but the union isn't). They lose two to three million euros on each home game at the Stade France due to the rental agreement so why play a home game to lose even more money. Laporte has guaranteed that this will continue to occur by vetoing the new stadium plans

Having watched the highlights for ABs last year, and seen how many tries Ben Smith set up/started/scored, I hope to Hell he stays. This is not even talking about his kicking, chasing, defence or positioning. The man is amazing. Please stay till next rwc, keep the ABs accounts in order Ben!

You'll never know if you really are the best team in the world unless you play them though. After 2019, you might need to pay to find that out... Put it this way, if the situation was reversed and England were seeking payment to play the All Blacks, I would hope the NZRU would work out a deal. I want to see the two best teams in the world play each other. I understand why in the future that might mean terms need to be reached. Let's face it, if it wasn't for the money, Cruden, Piutau, Faumuina and possibly soon Dagg and Ben Smith would all be in NZ as part of the All Blacks in one capacity or another. They are not, they are leaving in their prime mid World Cup cycle. That is not a good development. When I watch a test match, I want to see the best players represent their country, not a glorified club game between players with 3 years residency under their belts. The NZRU obviously see this as a problem and are trying to do something about it using the best leverage they have. You may disagree, but I do think they will get something back from this approach.

I'm an English rugby fan, and beating the All Backs at Twickenham is not top of my wish list. I rank World Cups, Grand Slams and tour wins more highly. Always happy for England to play NZ but I wouldn't be up in arms if the RFU declined to pay for them to turn up. When we finally met NZ at the World Cup in 1991, it was the first proper encounter in over six years. It didn't affect my enjoyment of the sport then that we hadn't played them regularly.

Goppeth was average when he left NZ and hasnt improved since. But who cares as he is overseas and therefore not available to be selected. As is Slade and Carter and Evans so why bother with their names ...They cant be selected for the ABs

So if either Barrett or Sopounga gets injured the ABs are down to Mounga? Thats trouble right there. I hope Jordie plays 10

You agree that Steve Tew is trying to extract more money from the northern unions, right? Do you acknowledge that at least part of the reason for that is to build up a war chest for exactly the situation now at hand with Cruden and more recently with Piutau? And this wasn't a strategy pursued in 2007 after the names you mentioned left, or in the 10 years since? The difference now is that the money on offer is so compelling that players like Piutau are willing to leave before even really establishing themselves as All Blacks. The threat to retention of the top 30 players in NZ has never been as big. And I disagree that Tew won't get his money. There is nothing an English rugby fan wants more than to see their team (try to) beat the All Blacks at Twickenham. The RFU will pay for that if that is their only option, although perhaps not to the extent Tew wants.

Go for it Aaron take the money mate

So hes playing well now then? I guess if youre every out of form it sticks to you forever for some.

Most Hurricanes fans spew in their mouth a little bit when hearing that name.

Montpelier need to do something. They seriously ran up the white flag against Leinster last weekend. Wonder what this means for Frans Steyn. Fullback or 12 or moving on?

I agree guys for the AB's not to adopt a similar rule to Oz but with professional rugby putting so much pressure on players and their families to make the most of their short playing career, I believe more players will leave when still in their prime to maximise their overseas earning capacity. Not seeing certain players play for the AB's (ie. potentially B Smith) while still in their prime will be a big loss to the international game. It has increased my interest in Top 14 French rugby - I recently saw Lyon v Bordeaux in Lyon last month and the fans were boisterous and passionate (the 11k crowd felt like 30k). I can see the interest from players.

Yeah the 8% is legit. Athlete's fall under the 'entertainers' tax bracket: "Rugby players are classed as “entertainers” under the taxation laws in France, which means if they stay for two years or longer they can pay as little as eight to 10 per cent on their gross earnings." http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/rugby/new-tv-deal-for-frances-top-14-will-pose-a-massive-threat-to-australias-rugby-and-nrl-talent/news-story/0d5502470a9add4001a5952ab9b734fa