All Blacks: Foreign affairs a distraction

Dan Carter turned down big money in Europe to pledge his future to the All Blacks. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Any All Black who signs an offshore contract for 2012 will need to prove his commitment to the 2011 World Cup campaign.

Already, senior All Blacks have agreed they can't let departing players become a distraction or be distracted in their quest to end the 24-year drought.

Players won't be discouraged from heading overseas in 2012. There is wide acceptance that for many, including Dan Carter and Richie McCaw, World Cups are often the right time for players to end one career chapter.

But there is a determination to ensure that players don't jump forward and focus on the new chapter prematurely.

The 2007 squad, which was dumped out in the quarter-final, included seven players - Anton Oliver, Chris Jack, Carl Hayman, Luke McAlister, Aaron Mauger, Byron Kelleher and Doug Howlett - who were all leaving for European clubs after the tournament.

The authors of an independent report into the 2007 failure made mention of the high numbers leaving but didn't link to this being a factor in the 20-18 loss to France.

However, the All Black management and senior players have, with hindsight, concluded that for some players at least, there was an element of distraction that came with their impending moves.

"Some of them had made the commitment to leave," says All Black manager Darren Shand of the 2007 campaign. "Some were doing things while we were over there because they were staying in France.

"There were things that didn't seem obvious at the time but looking back, and the campaign has been reviewed extensively, there were some things that didn't work or could have worked better."

It's a difficult, almost impossible task trying to determine whether a departing player has in some way allowed his mental approach to waver. But that is a task the All Black coaches can't shirk in the run-up to 2011.

New Zealand Rugby Union chief executive Steve Tew, says: "That is going to be a judgement call for the coaches to make. They [departing players] will have to convince the coaches, themselves and their mates that before they go, the thing they most want to do in the world is perform in that All Black jersey.

"At the end of 2007 a number of guys were off. Were they still at the same level of commitment because they were leaving had they would have been if they were staying?

"There will always be players who are leaving around the World Cup because it's a natural thing for the players to do. I know a number of the leaders in the current environment are very focused on only having people there who want to be there."

Shand is confident that he and the coaches will be able to prevent any players from being distracted this time round. Not only do they now know what cues to look out for, they are taking an individualised approach to player management which they didn't in 2007.

An extended group of potential World Cup All Blacks already have the next 18 months mapped out in terms of their workloads and training requirements. They have clear goals to achieve in component parts of their game and are being helped with their lives off the field.

Shand says the All Black management will be privy to the career intentions of all the leading players so will know well in advance of the World Cup who is leaving and who is staying.

Because of that access, he's confident the selectors will be able to determine the mental state of all the players and be able to assess if anyone is losing focus or allowing an impending move to impact upon their preparation and performance.

There is also a level of certainty among the management that key players have already given a clear indication of their commitment. In 2008, both Carter and McCaw made long-term commitments to be here.

Both could have earned significantly more overseas and the fact Carter was prepared to take a sabbatical at Perpignan rather than a two-year shift, is ample proof that he desperately wants to play for the All Blacks and win a World Cup.

Others such as Mils Muliaina, Ali Williams, Rodney So'oialo, Keven Mealamu, Andrew Hore and Ma'a Nonu have also turned down big money offers to leave New Zealand and committed themselves until 2011.

Some of these players may well decide to head offshore after the World Cup but their commitment to putting right what went wrong in 2007 is significant.