Go on... give Sonny a crack

After all those years of watching dodgy geezers in sheepskin-lined coats lure their best players to league, rugby's blazerati vowed to exact revenge as soon as the sugar daddys gave them the tools to do so.

All except the New Zealand Rugby Union that is. They have sat back and watched rugby aficionados around the world treat league's larder as their own.

The cheque book has stayed in the drawer and the only league convert so far has been Brad Thorn and that was because he instigated the move.

The NZRU does not chase league players. Not even Sonny Bill Williams, a New Zealand footballer - and there is not one dissenting voice on this - who is equipped to be a sensation in either code.

The scramble is on for the 19-year-old's signature. His current club, the Bulldogs, are favourite although every other league club on the planet has registered a bid.

The NZRU has watched events unfold with seeming uninterest. "If Sonny Bill Williams or one of his representatives came forward and said he really wanted to play rugby we'd be keen to talk," said NZRU deputy chief executive Steve Tew. "He hasn't and we have not had any conversations with him or any of his people."

But Williams is such an exceptional talent that maybe the time has come for the NZRU to have a rethink. To really show the power of the black jersey and rub home that league's bubble of hype consumes only one country.

The NZRU cite the difficulties in structuring a suitable financial package. Williams is reported to be after about $500,000 a season. He could only earn that figure playing rugby here if he was an All Black, which is the one thing the NZRU cannot guarantee him.

They could make an exception and pay him just to play NPC. They are reluctant, though, to cause resentment among the established players.

Offending big names hasn't been an issue for other countries, primarily because they run open markets where players are able to sell their labour at any price.

The Welsh signed fat cheques for the two fat Scotts - Quinnell and Gibbs - and one for league's hottest property, Iestyn Harris. England went for Jason Robinson. Three years after getting him, he scored a superb try in the World Cup final. Their defence that night was organised by former Great Britain league coach Phil Larder.

The Australians have perhaps been the smartest recruiters, buying Lote Tuqiri, Mat Rogers and Wendell Sailor. Rogers and Tuqiri in particular have added real sparkle to the opening rounds of this year's Super 12.

Former Wallaby coach Bob Dwyer had charge of the Waratahs when Tuqiri and Rogers signed. He has no doubt league players can make a huge impact in the 15-man code.

"It was a no-brainer," says Dwyer about signing Tuqiri and Rogers. "Someone asked me if I thought they'd succeed and I said yes, definitely. That doesn't place me in any exclusive group. I think everyone would've said yes.

"Williams could develop into a number six because we could soon make him bigger. He could play at 106kg and at second five-eighths. If you pick and choose, guys who are world-class athletes in rugby league are definitely going to make it in union."

All Black coach Graham Henry has hinted at similar thinking recently. He has stressed several times the need for players to be more explosive. Williams is certainly that and it's a more than valid observation that New Zealand isn't inundated with mobile, athletic, ball-carrying blindsides.

Dwyer is sure there's no reason - just because Brad Thorn didn't achieve as much as he'd have liked in rugby - that league converts can't play in the forwards.

As the Waratahs have found, signing league players has other benefits. Tuqiri and Rogers have pulled across league fans and generated more interest.

"I think there is a curiosity factor but that is not why we pick these guys," says Waratahs chief executive Frazer Neil. "I think this whole union versus league thing is overdone. We pick footballers who can pass, run, kick and tackle. We are in the market for players' services. There is no doubt, though, that if you have got guys of that calibre it helps put bums on seats."

The arguments for chasing league players are compelling. Imagine an All Black side containing Williams, Joe Rokocoko, Mils Muliaina, Ali Lauiti'iti, Tana Umaga, Clinton Toopi and Mose Tuiali'i. Explosive athletes with the ability to break games open with their pace and power.

Unless the NZRU changes its mind, imagination is the only venue for that particular team. Maybe the sight of Rogers, Tuqiri and Sailor clutching World Cup winners' medals in 2007 might lead to a rethink.