Extra time: Salary cap does not make sense

By WYNNE GRAY

Get real, Southland. The defection of captain Corey Flynn to Canterbury is just part of professional rugby.

We are told money was not the issue, although we are also told by Canterbury chief executive Hamish Riach that there was no mention of Super 12 contracts as part of the deal.

In that case you have to assume that Flynn, who had been involved with the Crusaders this season, saw a shift as the best way for him to attain his dream of becoming an All Black, of progressing his rugby career.

It was his career choice. He is taking a punt that he will get enough game time, that he will be used in some sort of rotation with Mark Hammett, that he can piggyback on the obvious benefits Canterbury and the Crusaders can offer their players.

He could have stayed in Southland and been an automatic choice for his NPC side, but without any guarantee that he would have been picked for the Highlanders ahead of either Anton Oliver or Tom Willis.

Flynn clearly believes he has a better shot at promotion if he moves to Canterbury. He is ambitious; should he be penalised for that?

Understandably, Southland are upset at losing one of their better players, one they need as they strive to stay in the first division and even push ahead next season if they stay in the top echelon.

But to call for a salary cap as a way of stopping player drift to other unions does not make sense.

That is both a restriction on individual choice and an artificial device to try to create some politically-correct equality of player strength throughout the provinces.

Southland chief executive Roger Clark argues that unions such as Canterbury and Auckland should be discouraged from hoarding players.

"In the past the All Blacks have been strong when their best players were playing provincial rugby," he said. "At the moment the players are getting a message from the powers-that-be that you can sit on the bench at NPC level and still be selected for the All Blacks.

"We've got a system in place designed for the amateur game and we're now professional and we really need to address that."

It was not so long ago that players such as Norm Hewitt, Pita Alatini, Mark Seymour and Marty Brooke ended up playing in Southland colours as that union recruited in the way Canterbury has done with Flynn.

And while Clark thinks otherwise, there has been no message yet from the All Blacks selectors that NPC reserves are also favoured to be national representatives - the next side are not chosen until the end of next month.

Some unions have advantages such as player numbers, a buoyant economy and other charms which can help attract or retain players.

But they also have a much bigger wages bill. It is up to other unions who see themselves as disadvantaged to be more professional in dealing with their situations.

Forcing players to shift through a salary cap is another version of asking for regular welfare. It is a scheme open to the abuse seen this season in the NRL and a system which may force more players to leave for lucrative overseas contracts if they are told to change provinces when they are not interested.

A draft because of a salary cap restriction will do nothing for any provincial loyalty, if that still exists.

To get the blood pumping back throughout the NPC, the competition has to be given prominence ahead of the Super 12.