Super Rugby Pacific is almost in the can for its second year, well for New Zealanders anyway. The final between the Chiefs and Crusaders is bringing together the two best sides in the comp for what should be an intense match, but the chat about what the future might look like has arguably been just as loud as that around the action on the field.

Specifically, the possible scenario of Damian McKenzie playing for the Rebels. Or Ardie Savea running out for the Brumbies. Or the Waratahs finally getting a decent fly half.

The low rumbling of opening up New Zealand’s eligibility rules, as guarded as some treasure out of a Tolkein novel, has finally surfaced and become a hot topic.

It was always going to happen due to Super Rugby now being confined to a far more manageable geographical area, but simply flinging the doors wide isn’t as easy as it might look – at least according to NZ Rugby’s (NZR) General Manager of Professional Rugby and Performance Chris Lendrum.

“Competition wide salary caps, drafts – those are really complex things,” he said on a Zoom call from NZR headquarters in Wellington.

“A lot of legal complexity when it when it comes to applying it across Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. It’s also complex from a high-performance perspective. We want this competition to be great in its own right but there’s no denying the fact that it feeds the All Blacks, Wallabies and other test nations. So, you have to make sure that no matter what the eligibility rules are, they’re still enabling those teams to be strong on the international stage.”

While it kind of feels like the can is getting kicked down the road on the issue, which is nothing out of the ordinary for NZR, at least the will seems to be there. Which is a pretty dramatic departure to the ways things have been since, well, forever.

Aside from a couple of convenient jumps through the loophole when it’s suited the All Blacks, like when Matt Todd joined the side for one test while playing in Japan in 2018, the rule has been: once you head offshore, that’s it. No Giteau Law, no broad exemptions, see ya later. The sabbatical clauses enacted by senior players are more to give them a rest and an increase in income, even then they are not eligible to play test matches.

“That doesn’t mean that it’s all too hard,” said Lendrum.

“I think the key is making sure that everyone involved can invest at the same level in terms of their development, so it’s not one country’s development system subsidising others. That everyone can contribute equally, then you get the compelling spread of talent and competition.”

So, let’s play hypothetical and imagine that sometime in the near future, NZR and Rugby Australia come to some sort of agreement about operating a free market. Does it mean that the All Blacks will suddenly jump over the ditch?

The far more likely reality is that the Australian teams will probably have to feed off what the rest of the rugby does when it comes to the ripe and juicy New Zealand pool of talent – at least for now.

Key All Blacks are locked into long term deals with their Super teams and given the often-fractured relationship between them and the governing body, there would be some sort of period where they can lock in their talent in order to keep everyone happy.

Damian McKenzie of the Chiefs makes a break (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

That, unfortunately, is a key reason behind Moana Pasifika’s struggles. While they were given the nod to compete as a team in early 2021, their ability to sign players wasn’t enacted till six months later – enough time for the other sides, some of whom low-key hate the idea of Moana existing at all, could make sure their marquee players weren’t going anywhere.

So, for now, the sort of players that would be crossing the Tasman are the ones that are playing there anyway: think Ollie Sapsford and Vaiolini Ekuasi, but probably just more of them.

The effect it would have on New Zealand would be arguably negligible. But the real question is how does would it benefit Australian rugby?

Glass half full: hypothetically in a few years, the Tahs put together a generous package to lure a new All Black 10 to Sydney. Billboards aplenty, bums on seats and probably a lot more media coverage. They would be able to provide a decent amount of advice to whoever is in the same position as him, plus a great many others too.

Trips to New Zealand will be much more interesting for a side that struggles to garner interest otherwise. The player comes home to New Zealand at the end of the season and resumes his All Black duties.

Glass half empty: The player is still under the strict All Black rest policies, which prohibit him from appearing in a certain number of matches in a row. While it’s caused many complaints in New Zealand, it’s been met with acceptance due to the greater good – something that doesn’t exist for Australian rugby fans and nor should it. But the biggest issue is that it’s hard to see it as anything other than a one-way street.

While Jack Debrezceni lined up against his old side the Chiefs last weekend, the demand for top level Aussies to come over to New Zealand wouldn’t be anywhere near as strong, creating a pretty decent sized plot hole in the transfer market narrative that would be created.

Then there’s the Wallaby eligible players that will be losing game time by all this. Still, it’s fun that the conversation about an open Super Rugby player market has at least started.

“There’s not any active discussions about it now, but that’s not to say there can’t be in the future,” said Lendrum.

“We’re open to anything that’s in the best interests of the competition.”

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