Richard Loe: Auckland no longer the drawcard it was

As if the Blues didn't have enough to worry about, they are now faced with the possibility - however slim - that Tony Woodcock and Anthony Boric are coming off contract and could move on.

This sort of talk looms as a bigger problem for the Blues than many other sides. It's because few players want to go to the franchise. They don't want to play for Auckland and/or the Blues because they are no longer winning teams; no longer an almost-guaranteed stroll into the All Blacks.

There is plenty of talk too that Auckland and/or the Blues are unhappy teams - and they seem to have gone through about as many coaches as there have been seasons recently. Now they have Pat Lam, promoted because he did well with Auckland's Air NZ Cup team but who has not cracked it at Super 14 level yet.

It's been seen at first five-eighths, an area where Auckland and the Blues are not strong. They tried to woo Dan Carter, Jonny Wilkinson, Argentina's Juan Martin Hernandez and Aaron Cruden - and all have passed. It's a good example of the difficulty they are now having; a far cry from the Auckland of old when people would have sold their grandmas to get into the side.

By way of comparison, I spoke to Todd Blackadder recently about the Crusaders' acquisition of Hawke's Bay winger Zac Guildford. Toddy said he thought it was good for both parties because Guildford was a nice, young, bloke who would fit in well with the Crusaders' culture. It was a sound piece of selection and you can already see the nurturing and the development at work.

I've heard all that talk about unhappiness in Auckland but I'd suggest the level of happiness will go up when the level of winning does. Winning tends to beget winning and Auckland need to turn things around so they can start to attract players and people of quality.

What they don't need right now is a stoush with their franchise neighbours North Harbour and to complain that the NZRU should pick up the entire salaries of the All Blacks because, as I heard CEO Andy Dalton saying the other day, they will play little or no part in provincial rugby.

I think that's wrong. Auckland and North Harbour should pay up and keep their All Blacks and play them as much as they can. The All Blacks need to play and the provincial competition is better when they do. Having the All Blacks playing alongside you or against you lifts people. You could see that when Dan Carter came back for Canterbury.

John Afoa should have started back in Air New Zealand Cup rugby straight away after not playing much in the domestic tests. Jerome Kaino didn't play in the final domestic test against the Wallabies but now he is warbling about "helping out" his team. Huh? He should have been back in there straight away.

So should Aled de Malmanche, who has been an All Black for all of about two minutes on the field and who should have been champing at the bit to get out there.

But if Auckland and the Blues have a problem, I'm not sure it is any greater than the Highlanders. I am not sure what will happen to the franchise if captain Jimmy Cowan and vice-captain Jamie Mackintosh leave - but it won't be good.

Mackintosh is said to be heading for Wellington and Cowan may pitch up at the Blues after next year.

That's because of this NZRU rort which allows players to choose a different Super 14 franchise - which will then "lend" the players back to Southland for the provincial season.

That's worked well for the Highlanders who have struggled to find talent in their own region and who have successfully got people like Clint Newland to the franchise.

But now it's backfiring, with the likes of Cowan and Mackintosh targeted.

I say stay. Both of them should remain in their franchise and I struggle to see much personal advantage to them in changing.

Mackintosh had a poor Super 14 last year but that was more down to him than the Highlanders. With Mackintosh, they have the workings of a good pack and it will benefit New Zealand rugby a lot less if the Highlanders keep on getting weaker.

It might be time to shut the door on that NZRU loophole too, at least until the new rules apply in 2011, allowing franchises to recruit directly from anywhere.