Gregor Paul: Players given help across great divide

The extension of the players' collective and suspension of Hurricanes hooker Dane Coles demonstrate perfectly the impasse professional rugby has reached.

The speed with which agreement was reached on the collective was testament to the desire to foster positive employment opportunities.

The New Zealand Rugby Union may be everybody's favourite punch bag but in some respects are light years ahead of other national bodies.

New Zealand's players have it pretty good. They might not be paid on the same scale as their European peers but they at least have employers who take their welfare seriously.

And that is not just about managing workloads.

For the better part of the past 10 years, massive strides have been taken to improve the holistic development of New Zealand's players.

Trainings are short and sharp, players are given responsibility into team affairs, coaches are encouraged to forge lasting relationships that go beyond playing
matters and individuals are swamped with specialist help.

The driving force has been the New Zealand Rugby Players Association, which has steadily improved the professional development system.

In the early days, players were on their own and, inevitably, many crashed.

Even once the NZRPA was set up in 2001, the typical professional player lacked basic life skills, was insular and not greatly equipped to deal with pressure situations.

That has all changed. The NZRPA in conjunction with the NZRU has built a more effective programme that educates players from an earlier age.

The default graduate who makes the professional ranks is more organised than his predecessors, more aware of his responsibilities and role in the community.

Evidence of the improvements were obvious during the All Black Grand Slam tour last year. Jamie Mackintosh was perhaps the best example of the new breed _ articulate, engaging and worldly, every inch an All Black captain-in-waiting.

Stephen Donald, Anthony Boric and Richard Kahui were other worthy products of the improved environment on that trip.

These men are exactly the type of individual New Zealand rugby has been trying to produce in greater numbers.

When you see the detail of the new collective and the maturity of some of the young players, there is every reason to believe professional rugby is enjoying a golden period.

Until, that is, players like Coles provide a stark reminder that it is more a case of two steps forward, one back. The system is much improved, but not flawless.

Some players just can't get the message. They have safety nets, advice coming out of their ears and still can't negotiate the not-so-tricky business of making it through a night out without being arrested.

There are others who, with the best will in the world, are never going to understand the full value of being self-reliant. They live to play rugby and have no desire to take a peep outside the bubble in which they are encased.

Jimmy Cowan best epitomises the two sides of the divide.

Last year he was struggling with alcohol, fighting demons he could never beat.

In the early days of professionalism he most likely would have fallen much harder as there were no mechanisms to identify his problems or help him through them.

He was thrown a lifeline by an employer that didn't want to cast him adrift.

Six months on and Cowan has crossed the divide _ he is a footballer full of character, humility and mental strength.

You can only hope Cowan is not the last to cross the great divide.