Richard Loe: NZRU spot on trying to keep leaders here

Daniel Carter. Photo / Brett Phibbs

I think it's great that the NZRU are waving big carrots in front of Richie McCaw and Dan Carter to make them stay past this year's World Cup.

To my mind, there's two ways to do it - let the top players go and spend the millions instead on retaining the services of the next crop on the way up. Trouble is, if you look at the next crop, there's not that much around at first five eighths and open side flanker.

If it's true that they have offered four-year contracts which allow Carter and McCaw to play offshore in sabbaticals and for $850,000 a year, I'm all for it.

We have all seen already the flood of players leaving here for France, Ireland, the UK and Japan.

The money on offer seems to be huge. George Smith, for example, is getting $3.3m to play in Japan. Ireland has become a big-money destination, and France remain
big payers too.

Brad Thorn has a young family; why on earth would he want to go to Japan? The answer can only be the coin. I don't begrudge him that - he has really paid his dues, that guy - but it's an example of how the money continues to suck players out of our rugby stocks.

Experienced players are hugely important. McCawand Carter will be valued not just because they are once-in-a-lifetime players but because they offer a lot in terms of leadership and know-how. I'll give you two more experienced players they should also find the money to keep here - Adam Thomson and Kieran Read.

Two years ago, Read was just a good player. Now he's a bloody good player and they have recognised that by re-signing him.

Thomson has gone from strength to strength at the Highlanders and the NZRU or whoever made that decision deserve praise. He would just have been a cog in the wheel at the Crusaders but he is a major piece of the machinery at the Highlanders; and shows again the value of an experienced player.

If you look at the first fives, it's hard to see why it would be worth keeping many of them. Stephen Brett, Stephen Donald, Mike Delany, Aaron Cruden, Colin Slade, Luke McAlister and Robbie Robinson - all competent players but not really of the class needed for All Black duties.

I don't think Robinson has it as a first five - maybe a fullback? - and I have been long and loud in my criticism of Luke McAlister's abilities. Of that list, I believe only Slade and Delany would be worth persevering with.

It's a question of what level those players have got to. They have reached a certain level but no more - and we can probably afford to let them go and bring in the next crop of first fives who won't take long, I believe, to get to the level of a Donald or a Brett or a Cruden.

So I think the NZRU are doing the right thing in focusing on the players they really need to keep; concentrating their efforts and what dollars they have to keep those players out of the hands of the big Japanese corporations and the sugar daddies who own some of the clubs in Europe.

Allowing Carter and McCaw to play overseas for a brief time and then come back is also a smart move. Those who head offshore for an extended period don't perform when they get back here. It might be that they are a bit long in the tooth or that the rugby over there is so different - but there really hasn't been an All Black who has successfully exported himself over there and then re-imported himself to the All Blacks.

Leon MacDonald is about the only one - and even then, it happened when there were not a lot of options in his position and certainly no once-in-a-lifetime players in front of him. Most of the others have been like McAlister. He was totally out of it when he came back from Europe and took a long time to come up to speed - and I wouldn't have him in my All Black team, even now.