What's good for the NZ Rugby goose...

Steve Tew denied on Radio Sport that NZR was being mean-spirited. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Piutau case exposes rugby bosses to charge of double standards.

Charles Piutau isn't allowed to play for the Blues next year because New Zealand Rugby is concerned about protecting the integrity of the competition.

"On balance we've said look, Charles is committed to another future for the next three years," said NZ Rugby boss Steve Tew yesterday. "He's not playing in New Zealand for a very long period of time and we're better to get on without him and let some other player have that jersey and develop themselves in this country and not set a precedent we wouldn't want to live with, frankly - because in our view we've got to look after the integrity of our competition and our policy of rewarding players who stay and play in New Zealand."

Let's for a moment think about Tew's response as to why the All Blacks outside back has been denied his wish to play 11 matches for his struggling franchise before he travels to Ulster midway through 2016 to take up a two-year contract.

This is the same organisation which allows New Zealand's best players to start the competition late most years, and in this World Cup year to miss games during it; the same organisation which allows players with absolutely no loyalty to New Zealand rugby to start the competition late after they have fattened their wallets in Japan.

It's about loyalty and long service, said Tew. Piutau, an All Black since 2013, isn't allowed to start a competition and not finish it, but in 2012 it was okay for Sonny Bill Williams, who made his All Blacks debut two years before, to start the Rugby Championship before heading to Japan for a lucrative contract. That's because the All Blacks had a midfield crisis and Williams was needed. It's also about pragmatism, see?

It's also about what part of the Super Rugby season players miss, apparently, with Tew saying the end of the round robin was more important than the start. It's also about not creating a precedent and we are getting closer to the nub of things here. New Zealand Rugby doesn't want their players to have their cake and eat it, while wanting to do exactly that themselves.

Tew has a difficult job keeping New Zealand's best rugby talent from the clutches of wealthier overseas clubs, but the double standards here are obvious. Piutau will now go overseas earlier to play for another club before linking with Ulster. The experience he could have given a young Blues backline will be lost, as well as his on-field talents. He will also leave with a bitter taste in his mouth, wondering how and why his three full seasons with the Blues and 14 caps have been dismissed so lightly.

Tew denied on Radio Sport that NZR was being mean-spirited. Others might not be so sure as there is a definite whiff of punishment about it.

"Losing one of your best players with two or three key weeks of your round-robin to go - it's not the case for the Blues now - but the other four New Zealand teams - this is it ... you don't want someone who has been taking up a jersey walking out at this part of the year. We treat every case on its merits and it's not about Charles' decision, it's about his unavailability to New Zealand rugby for the next three years. He's made that call, that is the reality."

A final point: It wouldn't have been three years if Tew and Co allowed Piutau to play next year - it would have been two.