Selection headaches for club rugby coaches

Auckland premier club fans should spare a thought for coaches trying to put together teams for the 2006 season starting today.

Most premier one sides from last season have been decimated, with many players moving overseas to play or being contracted to the expanded national provincial competition. Others have transferred or retired.

University, who narrowly missed making the Gallaher Shield final last season, is a typical example.

Of the 15 who played in last year's Gallaher Shield semifinal against Waitakere City, only five will be available for today's season-opener against Grammar Carlton.

"Three of our squad from last season are now playing in England," says University premier one coach Andrew Spraggon. "Three more have been contracted by the new Tasman franchise in the NPC competition and will be playing their club rugby down there, a couple more are now in the Blues Super 14 squad and others have either moved on to other clubs or have retired.

"We had a total of 46 in our premier one squad last season and only 15 of those have returned."

University isn't alone. Gallaher Shield champion Ponsonby is similarly affected, with most of its pack from last season not returning. Prop Daniel Muller is now playing for the Cats in the Super 14 competition, hooker Jon Meredith is out with a knee injury and three others have moved to Australia.

And Waitakere City have only 12 of the 22 who were either in the starting XV or on the bench for last season's Gallaher Shield final back again.

To compound the headaches, the expanded NPC competition starts earlier this year and club coaches won't have any of their Auckland rep players to call on from July 1.

The second round of the premier competition doesn't finish until late July, with the Gallaher Shield semifinal and final to be played after that.

"Unfortunately it's something we will have to learn to live with now that rugby's gone professional," says former All Black Bryan Williams, who is the Ponsonby club's director of rugby.

"Fortunately Ponsonby was strong in the senior one and under-21 grades last season so it will give our younger players in particular their opportunity to play premier one club rugby this year.

"If there is one positive to this it is that the premier one competition should be more even this year than is usually the case."