Salary cap doesn't stop hogging of top players

Those who reckon next year's NPC salary cap will distribute talent around the provinces should ponder how Auckland could afford to re-sign 16 high-profile players last week.

Next year the 14 teams in the NPC Premier Division will only be able to spend $2 million on player wages. The New Zealand Rugby Union has put the cap in place in an attempt to stop the better-funded provinces from hoarding all the best players.

But Auckland were able to re-sign 16 players last week including current All Blacks Ali Williams, Doug Howlett and Jerome Kaino as well as a host of Super 14 stars such as Daniel Braid, Ben Atiga, Brad Mika and Brent Ward.

The 16 who re-signed join the likes of Keven Mealamu, Derren Witcombe, John Afoa, Joe Rokocoko and Angus MacDonald, who are also contracted to Auckland next year.

Even with a salary cap in place, Auckland will have 13 current or recent former All Blacks in their squad. They could field a starting XV with 12 players who have played test football in the past two years and still have players as good as Mealamu, MacDonald, Ward and Isa Nacewa on their bench.

The only player Auckland wanted to keep but were unable to agree terms with was All Black fullback Mils Muliaina.

The fact the club, believed to be the union with the highest wage bill, have been able to retain almost every player they want, throws into question just how effective next season's salary cap is going to be.

It may also result in some questions being asked about whether they are complying or whether they have found an innovative way to circumnavigate the regulations.

Auckland chief executive David White is keen to stamp out any suggestion of impropriety.

"I can assure you we are absolutely by the book," he says. "The potentially proposed sanctions of a breach are tough and you would be crazy to expose yourself to that. That is just not the way we do business."

While the big names have been retained, White says there has been a reduction in the squad size.

Normally Auckland would run with about 38 contracted players. That figure will drop to about 32 to fit under the cap.

White says: "If the indicative amount of the cap comes to fruition, we will have to reduce the amount in our squad.

"What we are going to have to do is be very reliant on our development programme. What you will see is more players like Taniela Moa, Isaia Toe'ava and Kurtis Haiu coming through the programme and getting a taste of NPC rugby.

"I think we are going to have to work more closely with our Blues franchise partners. Loaning will become the norm so we can work together as a franchise. It is tight and it is a challenge. It will be interesting to challenge the depth of our squad next season."

That depth may be less than it has been in previous years but it will certainly be significant.

That will come as cold comfort to the likes of Manawatu, Hawke's Bay and Northland who were hoping that Auckland would be sweeping more than crumbs from their table.

With all due respect to the Auckland players who miss out on contracts for next season as a result of the cap, none of them was necessarily going to set the world on fire elsewhere.

Those forced to move to smaller provinces will have ability, but will not be the sort of gamebreakers who could really make a difference.

The cap is a year away from coming into force but already we can see it is not going to be the panacea the NZRU claims.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY