Absent All Blacks will help coaches keep their jobs

The loss of All Blacks from next year's Super 14 has made it almost certain that coaches will not be sacked if results are poor.

Franchises will afford coaches sympathetic reviews next season, with all five men in charge virtually guaranteed to be retained.

Franchises are understood to have argued that it would be legally treacherous for the New Zealand Rugby Union to withdraw a number of leading All Blacks from the early rounds of next season's competition and then treat coaches harshly if they don't achieve results.

Exactly how many players will be unavailable and for how long is still being discussed.

All Black coach Graham Henry believes his test squad will need an extended break at the start of next season to ensure they reach the World Cup in optimum shape.

He has put forward a range of proposals, with the most extreme believed to be taking 22 All Blacks out of the first seven rounds of Super 14.

If Henry gets his way, the Blues, Hurricanes and Crusaders will be hit particularly hard but so, arguably, will the Highlanders, even though they are likely to lose only Carl Hayman and possibly Anton Oliver.

In last year's competition the Highlanders were one of the strongest scrummaging sides and they built their game around the strength of their set piece.

If they are denied Hayman and Oliver for seven weeks, their effectiveness will be greatly reduced and coach Greg Cooper can hardly be held accountable, as his hands will have been tied by the selection sanctions imposed by the NZRU.

Legally, then, all five coaches will have strong grounds to say they were prevented by their employer from achieving the goals set down in their contracts.

The Herald on Sunday understands the NZRU is keen to avoid a scenario where coaches can plead compelling mitigating factors as a reason for underperformance but it accepts that concessions will have to be granted to get so many test players released.

The union and the individual franchises are also understood to be butting heads on the issue of squad sizes and the mechanics of next season's draft. If 22 players come out of the early rounds, they will need to be replaced, which throws up a number of issues, including cost.

Appeasing the franchises would appear, though, to be the only battle left for the NZRU to fight in regard to next season. Key sponsors and broadcasters are known to be reasonably comfortable with the plans being discussed.

Sky TV are understood to harbour no real concerns that TV ratings will plummet as a consequence of test stars being absent. In recent years viewing figures have held up during the NPC when All Blacks have been unavailable and some executives even believe that weakening the Crusaders might invigorate more interest.

There is also evidence to suggest that viewing figures for Super 14 and Tri Nations will be bolstered in 2008 if the latter tournament contains the reigning World Cup holders.

Sky don't release viewing figures but key sponsors of the Super 14 say that early ratings from this year's competition were slightly up from 2005. Based on increasing TV interest and Sky's belief that figures will not be heavily affected next season, Ford's marketing manager Barbara MacGregor said her firm remains committed to sponsoring both the Super 14 and All Blacks.

"We have been kept informed by the NZRU right through the process," said MacGregor. "Ford, just like all New Zealanders, would like to see the All Blacks win the World Cup next year and we support that aim. We always knew next year would be a bit different. We have been to plenty of sponsors' workshops and keep in constant contact with our account director at the NZRU."

Ford have signed through to 2008 and have hinted they will extend their association with the sport beyond the terms of the current contract.

The NZRU would say only that a number of options regarding the structure of next season remain on the table and are being discussed.