ABs can use visas to depart

We have heard all the positives that come with All Black squad rotation, but it brings one major negative that could bite New Zealand. With 39 players likely to start a test next month, the market will be flooded with players who might have previously failed to gain visas to play for European clubs sides.

To be granted a work visa in Europe, New Zealanders need to have ancestry that enables them to apply for a passport from a country within the European Union, or be able to apply for a Fijian, Samoan, Tongan or South African passport.

A deal was struck with France that allows passport holders from South Africa and the Pacific Islands to live and work in France as if they were French nationals. The British clubs have pounced on the agreement and successfully argued that if Pacific Islanders and South African have rights in France, they, by default, also have the same rights throughout the theoretically borderless European Union.

The third entry point for Kiwis is an entertainers and sportspersons visa that can be applied for by those players who have started a test in the last 15 months.

The British clubs in particular have been targeting fringe All Blacks who they believe might win a cap next month against Ireland but not necessarily be in the picture to push through to the World Cup in 2007.

Any player who starts against Ireland will be entitled to apply for a sportspersons visa if they don't have the required ancestry to gain a work permit.

The Irish series will effectively be a double whammy for NZ. Not only will it allow a number of players to showcase on the highest stage in games that will be closely followed in the UK, it will also make it possible for the British clubs to hire Kiwi talent.

Agents are already reporting that British clubs are exploiting the situation. Negotiations usually begin by establishing whether a New Zealand player is firstly interested in playing overseas and secondly whether he is able to get a work visa.

If a player has no relevant ancestry, interest usually cools. But clubs are already in advanced negotiations with Super 14 players they believe will soon be in a position to get work visas.

The All Blacks using 35 players on the end of season tour last year has also increased the number of New Zealanders on the radar of offshore poachers. It means that European clubs have been able to skip the preliminaries and go straight to putting offers in front of players who might not have been pondering an overseas move.

The hard sell has come on because with the World Cup coming right in the middle of the domestic northern hemisphere season, British clubs are aware that they will lose their test stars for anything up to 12 weeks in 2007.

The market is braced for significant activity in the wake of All Black selection later this month.