Richard Loe: Outdated rules need kicking into touch

I'm all for Luke McAlister coming back and moving straight into the All Blacks - and to hell with the eligibility rules.

Those rules were put in place to penalise rugby players who moved offshore to pursue the big bucks. It was supposed to be a disincentive, protection of local players and a bit of control freakery by the NZRU who were basically saying to the players: 'You play when we say you can'.

However, times have changed and the changes in the game have moved well past the thinking behind the rules that say McAlister has to come back and play in the Air NZ Cup before he can be selected for the All Blacks - meaning he would miss the Tri Nations.

Look, he's a Kiwi; an All Black and he's only 25; it's not like he's burned his bridges; turned his back on club and country. He went overseas temporarily, that's all. He's no fly-by-nighter.

The NZRU are not ignorant nor naive. They have already bent the rules or broken them for Dan Carter and now we hear Ali Williams is shaping up for something similar in the USA. That's all about combating the recent phenomenon of New Zealand player drift to Europe.

So would allowing McAlister straight back into the All Blacks. Let's face it - we might need him. He could be very much needed at second five-eighths or even at first five, given the Carter injury.

If we stand him down because of the rules, we are penalising him, penalising the All Blacks and penalising the fans - and what for?

I'd go further. If the NZRU relax their eligibility rules, I think it would be a very effective way to get other players who have been making returning noises (Carl Hayman and Chris Jack, among others) back to New Zealand and start reversing the trend which has been blighting the game here.

We might find that others who would walk straight into the All Blacks, like Aaron Mauger, would also be encouraged home.

Sure, McAlister might have to eat a bit of humble pie and the NZRU might have to be a bit nimble on their feet but this makes sense from every angle. The timing's good - he's over his knee operation, he's fresh and he wants to play.

There's also the case of Daniel Braid who isn't even playing in Europe but is barred from playing for the All Blacks by the same eligibility rules - daft. No, I think it's time the NZRU updated their thinking and re-wrote the rules to suit themselves.

Every other bugger does.