KEY POINTS:
A revamped contract system in which players are signed by franchises, not provinces, could be in place next year.
Under the current system, players sign with the New Zealand Rugby Union and then make a secondary deal with a province that determines which Super Rugby franchise they will
play for.
But the system is riddled with flaws and there is an appetite for change within the provinces to see new protocols set in place for contracting All Blacks. The system is likely to change when the new collective is signed at the end of 2008.
The deal signed by Ali Williams on Friday, and revealed by the Herald on Sunday last week, where he joined Tasman to play for the Crusaders but will most likely be loaned back to Canterbury, highlights the illogical nature of the existing set-up.
Williams, as an established All Black, is likely to be available for only a few provincial games each season yet will be paid a six figure salary for that contract. Just who will pick up the bill remains a mystery as it did when Rico Gear joined Nelson Bays in 2005 when his preferred move to Canterbury was blocked after the red and blacks signed Mose Tuiali'i in the same season.
Both Williams and Gear opted to move so they could play for the Crusaders knowing their test commitments all but eliminated their opportunity to play provincial football.
With All Black commitments only likely to become greater, most test regulars make decisions about where they want to play at Super 14 rather than provincial level.
A proposal was aired at the last collective negotiation under which the five franchises would be given a central budget to contract players and then work out to which provinces the players would be assigned.
That plan was rejected at a preliminary stage, but it is understood that it might now gain considerable provincial backing, particularly from the non-franchised so-called G-9 unions.
Many of the G-9 unions can no longer see the value in paying top dollar to contract All Blacks when they barely play. It had been thought ahead of the introduction of the new national championship that there would have been significant commercial perks behind high-profile signings.
That scenario has not materialised and there is a growing lobby within the G-9 that would like to see the NZRU pick up the entire bill for All Blacks.
That would mean that the NZRU would pay the 'provincial component' of an All Black's salary and then, in consultation with the player, decide to which province he should be assigned.
That would free up the unions to spend more money on players from whom they are actually going to gain active service for the duration of the competition.
North Harbour chief executive Brett Hollister said: "It's difficult to have All Blacks in your group at the moment when they play so few games. With more All Black games being rumoured the clash with the Air New Zealand Cup is likely to become greater.
"As a general principle we all get remunerated for the work that we do."
The current collective expires at the end of next season and it is expected that a raft of new ideas around player contracts will be explored.
