Rugby: Harbour win back Parsons - for now

North Harbour appear to have the upper hand in an arm wrestle with the Australian Rugby Union for the services of promising hooker James Parsons ... but for how long?

Parsons, 23, has spent the past fortnight with the Western Force and had been offered a contract with the Perth-based franchise, a contract he was understood to be close to signing.

That would have rendered him unable to return to Harbour and play in the Air New Zealand Cup, despite him having apparently already come to terms with the province for the 2010 season. Signing with the Force would mean he would have to renege on his agreement.

But late last night it emerged that Parsons, though he was on his way home, could still be interested in joining the Force if he can negotiate a release from Harbour.

An Australian Rugby union source said Parsons did not have a contract with either the Force or the national union and they were "staying out of the process until Parsons had sorted out his situation with North Harbour".

When spoken to on Thursday night, Parsons' manager, Kent Hale, gave an indication that the hooker was weighing up leaving, without being definitive.

"There has been some interest from across the Tasman, but nothing has been formalised yet," Hale said.

The kerfuffle has highlighted some significant concerns for New Zealand rugby. Players who have missed out on Super 14 contracts here are increasingly vulnerable to Australian approaches, made through both the franchises and the ARU, and that is only going to increase with the arrival of Melbourne Rebels on the Super rugby block.

It also, according to many, highlights the need for uniform contracting rules across the three Sanzar partners.

Harbour, in fact, pitched Parsons to the Force, believing it would be beneficial to his development to get Super rugby experience, having missed out on a contract with the Blues.

Last week the Herald reported that Australia had swooped on Harbour duo Parsons and 21-year-old first five Michael Harris, leading coach Craig Dowd to call for a rule that would allow players to represent Super 14 franchises before returning to their country of origin for the domestic competitions.

However, Australia's collective agreement means each of their four franchises, soon to be five, can only sign one foreign "marquee" player and one "overseas promising player" who has to commit to playing for Australia under the residential rules.

The Herald understands Harbour officials, who would not comment when contacted yesterday, were unhappy at some possible chicanery used to lure Parsons.

Having already signed South Africa's Andre Pistorius as their "marquee" player, they must have known that they could sign Parsons only on a "promising player" contract. But they agreed to trial the hooker, after consultation between respective coaches Dowd and John Mitchell, on the basis that he would be returning to play for Harbour in the Air New Zealand Cup.

Harbour then found themselves in the awkward position of either denying a player an opportunity to earn more money and taste a higher level of rugby, or protect a valuable resource.