Wynne Gray: Embarrassment of riches that leaves some with the Blues

Once more we have a shemozzle surrounding Super 12 selections. No matter the country's prejudice against the Blues, any right-thinking rugby person should concede that the franchise is damned whichever way it moves. And the provinces within its boundaries, Auckland, North Harbour and Northland suffer.

A Super 12 contract ties most players to New Zealand. It allows them to make a decent salary and pursue a fulltime professional sporting career.

If they play in the Blues region, they have a one-in-three chance of being picked.

Compare that with Canterbury and the Crusaders, who are basically the one and same team. Under the rules they are allowed to protect as many as 24 players from their area, so naturally they do that and then either draft in a couple of useful outsiders or add others from their development resources.

The Blues can protect 24 players, too, but coach Peter Sloane must compare the merits of players from the three unions. Some argue that gives him better talent to pick from.

In reality it provokes inter-provincial unhappiness and player distress.

With three times the numbers, there are always going to be unlucky players. An example is Steve Devine, assessed as the best halfback by Auckland during the NPC, but unless he provides a stunner today in the final against Waikato he will be overlooked for David Gibson and Mark Robinson when the Blues are named on Tuesday.

Already there has been some busy work behind the scenes to try to alter the arrangement, because if Devine is culled from the Blues, he will leave Auckland and head back to Australia.

So each province pushes their case hard when they meet their franchise coach during the closing stages of the NPC.

Auckland's success this season and the moderate showing of Harbour and the blowout by Northland will have made selection easier for Sloane.

The bulk of his squad will come from Auckland. Harbour will supply about nine and Northland two - Rupeni Caucaunibuca and Vula Maimuri - with Jason Shoemark and Derren Witcombe borderline choices.

Already provinces outside the favoured five franchise bases have been yelling about the widening division between the haves and the have-nots.

Southland claimed they were snubbed badly by Otago in last year's selections for the Highlanders, and Harbour and Northland officials will be anxiously watching for player reactions once the teams are named. If some of their senior players miss the Blues, they are also unlikely to be picked up in the draft. They may be playing in a position which is strong throughout the country or suffer because a franchise goes for local, and perhaps inferior, talent rather than imports.

That compounds the problem because those discarded players then consider offshore deals, especially with the World Cup looming, an event which will put many more players into the market once the tournament is finished.

Take a player like Blair Urlich, a No 8 who played consistently this season and has been part of the Blues in recent seasons.

However, his place in the Blues is likely to go to Xavier Rush and the repaired Ron Cribb, with Urlich relying on his versatility to claim a place in the loose forwards.

If that does not happen, Urlich is in danger of missing the competition because the No 8 spots in all other franchises have been taken. He may have to rely on a decision by Deon Muir, an injury or some perceived vacancy to keep his job.

Many of the issues brought on by the arrival of the Super 12 are hard to find answers to, but it is odd that the NPC is still chugging along when all the Super 12 haggling has been done.

Those discussions revolve around player transfers, but it would be more appropriate if they were made after the Super 12 so they meant something for the NPC, rather than the other way round.

If not, they should have been left until after the NPC final. Then publicity like that involving Deacon Manu or Steve Devine would not have detracted from the NPC.