Air NZ Cup producing a new elite

Bernie Upton is about to discover that he and players of his ilk have ousted test stars from the top end of the provincial pay scale.

Unions are no longer prepared to fork out big bucks for All Blacks who are likely to manage, at best, four Air New Zealand Cup appearances in the next two years.

They are after experienced pros who can make a difference for a full campaign. Upton, Gus Collins, Paul Tito, Steven Bates - these are the men who can now command the big provincial contracts.

Upton is probably the best lock in the country who will not be required for All Black duty this season. And that might be the case for several years.

Ali Williams, Jason Eaton and James Ryan are all ranked ahead of Upton and are committed to New Zealand until 2008. Chris Jack will be here at least until the World Cup, as will Greg Rawlinson and Troy Flavell, also ahead of Upton.

That scenario might depress the 24-year-old Upton but it excites provincial bosses who are likely to offer the Bay of Plenty man anything from $100,000 to $130,000 a season to switch allegiance when he comes off contract at the end of this season.

Wellington are in pole position to get their man. When Upton arrived at the Bay in 2003 from the capital, he was clear that he wanted to return at some point. That point is likely to be next year. Splitting his time in Hamilton, where he is based during Super 14, and his family home in the Bay, is losing its appeal. He's also smart enough to see the Canes are in need of a rugged, grafting lock to complement the more athletic Eaton.

Only a couple of seasons ago, players like Upton, who sat below the top tier of talent, could expect about $50,000 for playing in the NPC. If they had a canny agent, maybe they could squeeze out $60,000.

It was only the big names who were getting the six-figure deals, with most regular All Blacks being paid between $90,000 and $120,000 for their NPC work.

Those top end figures might seem crazy money for a player who could cruelly be described as a top-of-the-range journeyman but the economics stack up. But Upton is the sort of player around whom a provincial pack can be built. He will take charge of the lineout, win ball, hit rucks hard and add a bit of mongrel and leadership. His skills are ideal for the Air New Zealand Cup and his contribution could be the difference between making or missing the playoffs.

A home semifinal is worth about $250,000 to the Wellington Rugby Union, as is a home final.

Paying Upton top dollar for a potential return of $500,000 makes sense. Certainly more sense than paying a six-figure salary to a frontline All Black such as Jerry Collins or Rodney So'oialo who will be unable to make a meaningful contribution.

Unions now have only $2 million to spend. Collins can't put bums on seats if he's not playing and he can't help Wellington win championships.

All Blacks come with a discount due to their limited involvement but they still put a massive dent on the wage bill without sweating the hard yards. The World Cup will see the All Blacks miss next year's Air New Zealand Cup so it made sense for Canterbury to offload Chris Jack to Tasman.

It got him off the wage bill and kept him available for the Crusaders. Other unions will no doubt strike similar deals with their Super 14 franchise partners.

And they will do so because they want to free up cash to entice what could be called, given the company sponsoring the competition, the premium economy players.