Richard Loe: Breeding ground still fertile

Glenn Moore. Photo / Photosport

The year's provincial competitions proved there is still a pathway for players and it doesn't matter where you play your rugby.

The All Blacks are in good health less than 12 months out from the World Cup but, equally, domestic rugby is in a good place at all levels of provincial competition.

Glenn Moore, who guided Mid Canterbury to this year's Meads Cup over Buller and is on his way to the Blues soon, said he thought there were one or two in his side who could make the next step up. Likewise, Dave Rennie picked 13 new players in his Chiefs squad and used the NPC to select up-and-coming youngsters.

It showed that provincial rugby is still a good breeding ground, even in this professional era with talent identification and development programmes.

Players often believed they needed to be in the big centres to make it but that's not the case because sometimes players can get swallowed up there and have fewer chances. If you have the right attitude and play well enough, someone will notice and Rennie has proved that.

He's a clever operator. You don't just have to be a good coach to lead a side to success, you also need to be a good selector and Rennie is one of the best.

The New Zealand Super Rugby squads were fairly predictable and the Chiefs and Crusaders again stand out. The Hurricanes look decent but new coach Chris Boyd looks like he is suffering after Wellington's dismal ITM Cup campaign. I am not picking the Highlanders to be that flash and the Blues, while they have good outside backs, lack firepower up front.

There's been a fair amount of talk about Sonny Bill Williams this week (as there is most weeks) and some of that has centred on the fact that, like Charlie Faumuina, he's chosen to stay on tour with the All Blacks rather than attend the birth of his first child.

I would have done the same. In this professional era, when your livelihood depends on what you do, you have to make every post a winner.

Would Nathan Harris have been starting against the US this morning if Dane Coles hadn't left the team, handing Harris a chance against Argentina. Harris obviously proved in those few minutes he was capable of playing at the top level.

SBW will be well aware the World Cup is just around the corner.