Three events occurred this week which are linked by a common thread.
The New Zealand soccer team played two internationals in Estonia and Poland; the Kiwis rugby league team arrived in England for a tour taking in internationals against England, Wales and France; and Royce Willis joined the band of New
Zealand rugby brothers plying their trade overseas.
The link? The All Whites and the Kiwis draw players from around the globe. The New Zealand Rugby Union steadfastly refuses to do so.
To be fair, a national soccer or rugby league team drawn solely from players operating in New Zealand would be distinctly weaker propositions than they are under the existing system of plucking players from all round the world.
The bulk of New Zealand rugby players who head for the yen or the euro in Japan, France, Italy, Ireland and Britain are either never going to be All Blacks or have been and, to employ that oft-used, tacky phrase, are well past their use-by date in terms of national selection.
Todd Blackadder, John and Martin Leslie, Pat Lam and Shane Howarth are some of those who have, and still are, cranking out a good living on the other side of the planet.
Now Waikato lock Willis, at 27, is off. He might not have made next year's World Cup, someone important probably whispered in his ear, but what say a rash of injuries befall the leading locking candidates in the first half of next year? It is not beyond the bounds of possibility.
Does it not seem sensible for the All Black selectors to at least have the option of looking elsewhere? They probably wouldn't anyway, but it would be logical to have that choice.
You could argue rugby has the greatest depth of talent of any sport here, therefore the All Blacks don't need those players who opt out. And you could argue those wanting an All Black jersey should be parading their skills on home soil.
Maybe so, but is that the right and proper way to operate a truly professional sport?
