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Benji Marshall could be forced to choose between rugby league and rugby union after the NRL indicated they were unlikely to sanction his proposed off-season rugby union sabbatical in Japan.
Reports out of Australia have suggested Marshall stands to earn $1 million for a 10-game stint in Japanese
rugby but the NRL have rules preventing players participating in rival codes.
The Kiwis five-eighth is off contract with Wests Tigers at the end of the 2009 NRL season and they are reportedly happy for Marshall to play rugby in Japan if it means retaining him beyond this season.
"It's not something we currently support," NRL chief David Gallop told The Australian. "It's not necessarily in the best interests of rugby league to have players playing rugby union in the off-season. It could have potential salary-cap implications and generally is something we don't support."
The NRL denied former Panthers and Australian halfback Craig Gower permission to play rugby in Italy and he quit the NRL in 2007 despite having two years left on his Panthers contract. He now plays rugby for French Top 14 side Bayonne.
The NRL have come under increasing pressure in recent times because of the money in rugby union and the game has lost a swagger of internationals including Sonny Bill Williams, Mark Gasnier, Timana Tahu and Ryan Cross.
Marshall will have a big decision to make if the NRL prevent him from cashing in on the lucrative offer from Japan. He has said he wouldn't play NRL for any other club other than the Wests Tigers but hasn't ruled out a switch in codes.
Last year he told the Herald on Sunday: "I would never say never to anything. When blokes are being offered $1 million to $1.2 million a year to play rugby in France compared to, say, $300,000 in the NRL, how do you say no?"
Marshall, though, might be able to get around the NRL rules by letting his current Wests Tigers deal run out in October and refrain from re-signing with them when he returns from Japan.
Not everyone who has made the switch has been an instant success and former Kiwis captain Hugh McGahan doubts whether Marshall would flourish.
For the past five years, McGahan has coached rugby union and last year was head coach of Auckland club side Waitemata, who were beaten grand finalists.
He has grave doubts Marshall, who has battled serious injury throughout his short career, could handle playing 12 months of the year, let alone master rugby union during a short stint.
"There is no question he will struggle," McGahan says. "Rugby union is a totally different game for a playmaker. You can learn but, from a timing perspective and the way teams play the game, it's more structured in rugby union than rugby league. In rugby league you play more of what's in front of you.
"The only position he could play is first five-eighths but he's not a first-five and he would have to learn that. But he would only be going for a short time so I'm not sure what his value would be. I'm not saying he couldn't learn it long-term but others like Mark Gasnier and Sonny Bill Williams have shown you can't do it instantly," says McGahan.
"The body can't sustain playing at that level for 12 months. I know players who tried it in the mid-1980s and they couldn't sustain it then and the game wasn't as intense as it is now. If Wests Tigers pay him top dollar, you expect top performances.
"This is all about money. People talk about the challenge but players never went to rugby union before because there was no money in it. They didn't go for the challenge then.
"He has to pick one or the other. If he wants to make a name for himself in rugby union, he has to shut off rugby league and go."