All Black exodus bad for European game, says Henry

NEW ZEALAND rugby players taking up lucrative contracts in Europe have been warned by All Blacks manager Graham Henry that they are endangering their international careers.

With high-profile players like Carl Hayman and Chris Jack signing up for English Premiership clubs, fears of a player exodus are growing in New Zealand, and now Henry has weighed in with a thinly veiled warning to players considering a move to Europe.

“It’s a huge problem. I don’t think they’ll develop as well in a club environment compared with an international environment,” Henry said.

“The risk they take is that they come back and somebody has established themselves as better than them because they have developed better during that time.”

What had been a trickle of New Zealanders playing for European clubs is gathering momentum; until recently players approaching the end of their careers were taking up lucrative short-term contracts in Europe, such as Tana Umaga in Toulon.

But now, players at the peak of their careers, such as Aaron Mauger, Hayman and Jack, all still in their twenties, are among a group of players joining English clubs after the World Cup finishes in October.

Others are still considering their options, most notably 23-year-old playmaker Luke McAlister, who has been a Munster target.

Moving to Europe would leave the players ineligible to represent the All Blacks under New Zealand Rugby Football regulations. Other nations are also losing players to European clubs, particularly from the Pacific Islands.

Henry believes the trend could hamper the development of local talent in countries such as England.

“I was told there were only three No 10s playing in the Premiership who are English,” Henry said.

“I just can’t understand what they’re doing in Europe to develop their own players with all these top players coming from around the world.”