Jack's all right by Tasman

Chris Jack

The value of new signing Chris Jack stretches well beyond the handful of games he will play for Tasman, says the new union's boss.

Canterbury granted him an early release to sign a two-year deal with Tasman, a new union formed by the merging of Nelson Bays and Marlborough.

His contract begins in this year's revamped 14-team NPC, which starts in July. But Jack is likely to play little part as his likely All Blacks commitments don't end until early September.

There will still be seven weeks remaining in the new provincial competition at that point but Tasman Rugby Union chief executive Lee Germon admitted they would see little of the 48-test veteran as he was sure to be rested by All Blacks management.

"The reality is that any union looking to sign an All Black needs to think pretty carefully about it, bearing in mind the limited game time that we know they'll have," Germon said.

"But when you have a player and a person of the calibre of Chris offered to us as an opportunity, we'd be fools not to grab it.

"We see Chris contributing on the park but that's only a tiny fraction of the reason we've wanted to get him. We see him contributing immensely to our younger players and the union as a whole in terms of creating leadership and the culture."

- NZPA