Mehrts wants moolah

The danger with this year's Lions tour is that it will not only giveth - it could also taketh away. Bruce Reihana and Leon MacDonald have come back from overseas in the hope they can play a part, but Justin Marshall has announced he will leave for Leeds after the three-test series.

The Lions tour sits as an obvious landmark to exit stage left.

Andrew Mehrtens appears to be considering a shift. Reports are coming out of England that a number of Zurich Premiership clubs have been offered his services. He allegedly wants £180,000 a season, a price tag which has seen Harlequins, Saracens, Bath and Worcester say thanks but no thanks. Marshall is understood to have signed with Leeds for £150,000 a year.

Harlequins manager Mike Scott told The Guardian in London: "We were approached about Mehrtens, but said no straight away. We did not get around to talking terms."

Bath have a wage structure, refusing to pay more than £120,000 a season leaving Northampton, who are in desperate need of a quality No 10, as the most likely club to initiate talks.

Mehrtens comes off contract at the end of the year. The New Zealand Rugby Union say they are keen to keep experienced players here.

Northampton could also be interested in Carlos Spencer, another player who has presumably seen the writing on the wall. Daniel Carter is almost certain to be the first five-eighths come the next World Cup.

At 29, Spencer still has much to offer. The big spending Stade Francais want a creative pivot to help them launch one of the most talented backlines in Europe.

Hooker Anton Oliver was ready to head off to Oxford or Cambridge last year until his All Black call-up. Unless he believes he will still be in the frame in 2007, he's likely to revisit that plan.

As for skipper Tana Umaga, he's contracted through to 2007. A win against the Lions might be a great way to end a great career. It might also merely confirm once again he is a world-class player.

What these players know is that after the Lions series there is just more of the same old, same old. That is modern rugby - a host of seemingly meaningless tests filling in times between World Cups.

"There is a focus on World Cups," says former All Black coach John Hart. "Selectors have a tendency to ask whether players can make it to the next World Cup."