Rugby News: Kiwi players' boss backs RA's Super draft plan, Canes coach still moaning about Berry role in no-try call

Hamish McLennan’s mooted Super Rugby draft has received support from a key New Zealand stakeholder.

The Rugby Australia chairman floated the idea of a player draft between Australia and New Zealand in an interview with The Roar last month.

“I think we should be doing a draft now to create more innovation around the game and keep eligibility within Super Rugby Pacific and move different players to different clubs,” McLennan told The Roar.

“This would lead to better ratings and better broadcast performance.”

His call went down like a lead balloon in the Kiwi media – but it seems not all New Zealanders have an issue with it.

NZ Players’ association chief executive Rob Nichol “has warmly embraced the possibility of a Super Rugby Pacific draft involving Australia and the Pacific Islands,” according to a report in Stuff.

RA’s new chief executive Phil Waugh brought the topic back to the surface when he gave his first interviews after being named to replace Andy Marinos last week, saying he would discuss it with NZR boss Mark Robinson.

Nichol told Stuff that he was “100%” open to it and had already been involved in talks about the concept with McLennan.

“We never say no to opportunities,” Nichol said. “Something I think that can be really attractive is a prospect of a draft which is around New Zealand talent, Australian talent and Pacific talent.

 (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images for Rugby Australia)

“New Zealand, Australia, and the Pacific now through Moana Pasifika, we’re joined at the hip to retain professional rugby in this part of the world.

“I don’t think people really understand that. We’re competing in the global marketplace, which is becoming incredibly aggressive with private equity interests becoming very influential in the northern hemisphere.

“We’ve got to be innovative. We’ve got to say, ‘How can we all work together to not just retain but actually attract talent back to this part of the world?’

“We have a generation of professional players who have gone offshore, from Australia and New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, have stayed offshore, settled, got married, had children, and those children are now coming into the prime of their rugby careers.

“And, they’re all eligible to play for countries down here.”

Nichol’s heavyweight support of the concept removes a significant barrier to a draft.

“Should we be considering it? Absolutely,” Nichol said. “We should be considering it because we need to consider everything.

“We want to strengthen all of the teams, and we want to provide pathways for our professional players or aspiring professional players to be able to get out there and express their talent.”

The current eligibility laws prevent New Zealanders from representing the All Blacks if they play outside of NZ.

Nichol said the introduction of a draft would represent the perfect time to take another look at those regulations.

“I think it becomes really important,” Nichol said. “It might not be super important for the young 19, 20, 21 year-old who’s looking to get a one or two-year break, but it becomes incredibly important when they get into a Super Rugby environment, they’re starting to find form, and then they start thinking about the next step.

“It’s always a conversation that we’re having…the logical [answer] is that as long as you play in a competition that New Zealand [Rugby] is an owner in, what about that?

“In other words, if you play in Super Rugby Pacific, could you be eligible for the All Blacks? That to me, if there was to be a change, that’s probably the logical change to go to.”

Hurricanes still bitter about Brumbies no-try

Hurricanes coach Jason Holland has blown up again about the Ardie Savea no try that cost his side a place in the Super Rugby semis.

Holland, who is leaving the club, was still angry with the disallowed try in the 85th minute of the Brumbies 37-33 win on Saturday night.

Holland was certain Savea grounded the ball despite the efforts from Brumbies flanker Luke Reimer, who was credited for a try-saving tackle. Savea also complained that he had grounded the ball.

Referee Nic Berry called a no-try and then the TMO Brett Cronan found no evidence to overturn the on field decision.

“We had lots of opportunities to win the game, especially in that last five or 10 minutes, and I completely understand we could have won the game without relying on that [final decision],” Holland told reporters.

Ardie Savea of the Hurricanes remonstrates with Nic Berry over the final decision. (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)

“But the thing in my head is around TMOs, and TMOs have been the main bugbear for me. With referees you win some, you lose some and get decisions right and wrong, and I can accept that.

“The bit with this, I just keep thinking why has the TMO been brought into the game? My understanding was the TMO was brought into the game so we get things really right, especially in big situations at the end of the game.

“But I just think we’ve just created opportunities not to get it right. I think about our game, Ardie scored to win the game, and I think about when [Blues flanker] Dalton [Papalii] got the red card against the Crusaders and from the pass Tamaiti Williams drops a massive knock on and we don’t get that right, and they’re massive moments.”

Holland said Berry should have asked the TMO to check for try or not try, giving Cronan more scope to rule on the decision.

“Ardie scored the try, there’s no doubt about that but it’s a good one to figure out about TMOs. Is it about speeding the game up or is it about getting it right?

“The obvious one is Nic Berry could have said try or not a try. They can do that, which would have been a totally different scenario and why he did that I’m not sure.

“We’ve gone full circle from trying to get it right to now trying to speed the game up and I think we’re in all sorts of trouble because we’re relying on a question for that decision which means the TMO is probably thinking ‘that’s probably a try, but I can’t award it because of the question’.”

Larkham updates Brumbies casualty list

The biggest challenge in club rugby is awaiting the ACT Brumbies, and halfback Nic White says his side couldn’t be more keen for it.

Fresh from holding on for a nail-biting 37-33 quarter-final win against the Hurricanes, the Brumbies will now head to New Zealand and battle the league-leading Chiefs in a semi-final to again try and keep their season alive.

They haven’t won either of their games in NZ this season, lost 31-21 to the Chiefs in Canberra a month ago and were knocked out across the ditch at the exact same stage last year, but White was already raring to go less than an hour after their Hurricanes win.

“There’s no better challenge, that’s the one you want,” he said.

“Coming into this game, watching the footy today and seeing who the potential lineups are gonna be, you’re hoping you get a chance to go over and test yourself.

“That’s what we want to be prepping for all year. We’ll enjoy this tonight and then we’re pretty keen for it.”

ACT coach Stephen Larkham confirmed captain Allan Alaalatoa was extremely unlikely to feature in the semi-final but said winger Corey Toole remained a chance, progressing well while rehabilitating an ankle knock from their last regular season game.

“All of that is too soon to say,” he said.

“(Toole) has tracked pretty well this week, but he’s on a rehab program and he’s got to tick everything off every day … we’ll wait and see how he turns up on Monday and Tuesday.

“Allan’s calendar is a little bit more serious than Tooley’s … he’s improving every day, but I don’t think it’s going to be there for him.”

White reflected on their narrow win against the Hurricanes, were the Brumbies were outstanding early in racing to a 25-16 halftime lead, before having to go and win the game again after conceding 17 straight points early in the second term.

“It kind of had everything that game,” he said.

“The regular season was a chance for us to get a lot of tests and learn from them, and then when the test of finals footy has come we’re ready for it.

“The second half, we came out and had to adapt pretty quickly because things weren’t going right but we were composed … we know teams are gonna have their moments and we’re just gonna find ways to adapt, to be robust.

“(We will) celebrate this over the next little while and then rest, recover and get stuck into review, because (there’s) plenty to learn from, look at and preview, and get over there and throw the kitchen sink.”

Gatland off to Japan

Chiefs flyhalf Bryn Gatland will make the move to Japan in 2024 to play for the Kobelco Kobe Steelers under former Wallabies coach Dave Rennie.

Gatland will join Chiefs teammate Brodie Retallick who announced his departure to the same club earlier this year.

Gatland will miss the rest of the Super Rugby season after he suffered a distal bicep tendon rupture in round 11 against the Highlanders.

Boasting over 50 Super Rugby caps, Gatland played for the Blues and Highlanders, before joining the Chiefs in 2020 where he notched up most of his starts.

Gatland said: “Goodbyes are never easy, but it’s time for me to move on to a new challenge and experience in my career.

“I’ve loved my time at the Gallagher Chiefs and want to thank everyone involved in helping fulfil the dream of a 10-year-old kid born and raised here.”