Sean Fitzpatrick: Winning best bet to call home leading players

The All Blacks must target Newcastle captain Carl Hayman (right). Photo / Getty Images

We need to make sure we do everything in our power to ensure the Carl Haymans of this world come home to put their hand up for the World Cup.

Thoughts are turning to 2011 and planning is well under way - the All Black management is starting to define the shape and composition of the squad.

We've been hearing that of the 30 or so overseas players who have worn the jersey under Graham Henry, probably only a couple currently in England are of interest.

Hayman (the 1000th All Black) is one and as the 29-year-old begins a new season as club captain for Newcastle, he has some decisions to make about leaving the Guinness Premiership and returning in time to be considered.

While Hayman can have his season at Newcastle, he has to get back into Super 14 and domestic rugby to be available for the World Cup.

Availability doesn't guarantee selection and I understand the All Black hierarchy is obliged to say there are new guys around, that things have moved on, and he'll have to challenge for his place.

I have no doubt that, if he returns, Hayman will jump through whatever hoops are placed in front of him and do so easily. He is top quality - not just in terms of physical presence in the set piece and in the loose (he is a big, solid unit who you'd have in your corner in any sort of scrap) but also precisely because he has travelled and played abroad.

The experience has improved his understanding of the game and his insight will give added depth to his value as a test player.

He has been around the block a bit now; he will know he can match (and better) whoever is put in front of him.

He will be stronger mentally, with more to contribute to the All Black set-up than before he left. But for Hayman and an ever-increasing number of players, this value to the All Blacks is counter-balanced by the material gain they can derive from playing in the Northern Hemisphere. There are, and will always be, market forces driving players towards wherever that money is.

As things stand in New Zealand now, we can't compete with £350,000 a year contracts, so we have to believe he and others will return for the challenge and thrill of continuing their All Black career. I think the lure of the jersey is still enough - but only just and only because it still defines the absolute pinnacle of rugby; because All Blacks win.

So to keep attracting players back home, we need to make sure the All Blacks keep winning. Whatever it takes, we need to be ruthless in pursuing what we want.

In the longer term, I believe we will have to do that through the structure and strength of our domestic game. While the latest announcements show it is being discussed and thought about, we still have work to do. The central issue of how to make playing in New Zealand exciting and rewarding for players and spectators remains a problem.

In the shorter term, a deadline looms. We must get our best players home and, come the World Cup, get our best 15 on the park. Between now and then, we have to target specific players in specific positions and do whatever it takes to get them into the mix and eligible to play.

We have to make returning to New Zealand as enticing as possible. It's too simplistic to throw dollars at the problem - although a bit of cash would help move things along, I am sure.

It is also about pride, passion, belonging and belief. It is about winning. Money plus the size of our population is against us and we will have to be increasingly creative to protect our All Black "birthright" going forward.

Fast approaching is a massive opportunity. It is an opportunity for the All Black team to absolve the sins of the last few World Cups, to make a statement to the world by beating it; and to write the next irresistible chapter of the All Black legacy.

We cannot fail in 2011, not just because we're hosts or because of dented pride or some impending sense of disappointment as history repeats itself - but because of something altogether much more serious: to lose would be to announce to the world that the All Black jersey really is losing its magic.

That is not an option.