KEY POINTS:
The only crazy thing about Daniel Braid moving to Queensland is that he will not be eligible to play for the All Blacks.
The move makes sense on every level for Braid. He'll be well paid as a marquee player. He'll play in a competition he knows well. Super 14 is his style of rugby - it is fast and fluid with plenty of interchanges between backs and forwards.
Braid has signed a one-year deal with an option for more in 2010. If the 2010 competition starts later - probably in mid-March - as planned, Braid might be able to finish Super 14 next year with the Reds, then immediately join a Japanese club for their season, returning to Queensland in time for the 2010 Super Rugby competition.
Braid is looking at a stint in Japan, or possibly a similar short-term deal in Europe after Super 14 because the Australians don't have any meaningful secondary competition for their provinces.
It's possible, though, that Braid might not land a Japanese or European deal. He might just decide to enjoy the perennial heat of Brisbane after Super 14 and take the opportunity to enjoy some extended downtime and a long conditioning window before Super Rugby in 2010.
What if, though, while Braid is kicking his heels in Brisbane next winter, Richie McCaw breaks a leg? Then Adam Thomson is involved in a freak haircutting accident and Rodney So'oialo falls off his bike cycling home from training and can't remember how to fill in at No 7?
Ridiculous? Possibly. But New Zealand, as witnessed earlier this year when McCaw did damaged his ankle, is not awash with high quality specialist opensides.
To have a player of Braid's quality ruled out of All Black contention on the basis he's not contracted to the New Zealand Rugby Union is massively short-sighted.
In all probability, it's unlikely the All Blacks will be hit with an injury crisis so severe they will be cursing at not being able to recall Braid. But why take the risk?
The current eligibility rules are to deter players from joining European and Japanese clubs. For all the hours spent debating whether overseas players should be eligible for the All Blacks, the reality is this: Anyone contracted to a European club is only going to be available for the June and November tests.
As an example, do the All Blacks really want a scenario where they select Carl Hayman for the June tests, then release him back to Newcastle and call up John Afoa for the Tri Nations and then go back to Hayman for the November window? Is that the All Black way? What message will that send to aspiring New Zealand-based youngsters?
But there are no logistic impediments to selecting players, such as Braid, who are contracted to teams in Sanzar competitions. There are no player release issues to negotiate - Braid would be available for every All Black test.
In Europe, there are players from different countries scattered everywhere. France's captain at the World Cup, Raphael Ibanez, played for Wasps, Sebastien Chabal played for Sale. England's Perry Freshwater played for Perpignan, more than half of Scotland's squad were playing for English clubs while Irish and Welsh players were dotted across the continent.
The existing eligibility laws in New Zealand need to be amended to state that players no longer have to be contracted to the NZRU, they just have to be contracted to a side playing in a Sanzar competition.
It would be a good idea to amend them sooner rather than later as the Australians are not going to go away. The Reds have Braid. The Waratahs, Force and Brumbies are all sniffing around.
Tony Woodcock is off contract next year and Australian sides are light on props. What if he is lured across? Will the NZRU persevere with the existing rule and have the All Black scrum shunted backwards during the Tri Nations while the best loosehead in the world tops up his tan on Bondi Beach?
That would be crazy. Change is needed and it is needed now.
