KEY POINTS:
Isa Nacewa is looking forward. He made that painstakingly clear yesterday when he announced he is to quit New Zealand rugby at the end of the Super 14 for a two-year contract with Irish club Leinster.
A new team, a new job, a new country and a fat
new pay cheque are among the things he is looking forward to.
The looking back, he will leave to others. The 25-year-old utility flat-batted all questions about an All Blacks career that never happened thanks to a two-minute appearance off the bench for Fiji.
One of the more articulate and intelligent figures in the Blues camp, Nacewa revealed more in what he didn't say than in the few non-committal sentences he offered as an explanation for his decision to go.
"Um, part of it," he said when asked if his ineligibility to play for the country of his birth had been the main reason.
"I've always wanted to go overseas and travel a bit. That just sort of helped contribute to deciding to leave at this stage. I've stuck around the last couple of years because I really wanted to be here. Now I just really look forward to getting the rest of my life going."
And there it is. Looking forward. Not angry. Not disappointed. If anything, simply resigned. From his birth in Auckland in 1982 to his sublime array of skills and cultured footballing mind, Nacewa qualified to be an All Black in just about every sense.
Surely any prospect of that happening is now dead and buried?
"I'm just looking forward to going over there and see what happens happens. I'll just deal with that when it comes.
"The eligibility thing has always been out there but I have never really stopped and waited for it. It is a hard one. There has always been talk of getting things done but nothing really happened. So I have just carried on with each campaign."
Blues and Auckland CEO Andy Dalton commended Nacewa for his loyalty and empathised with him over his "predicament".
"We have been aware of Isa's popularity overseas and duly impressed at his ability to resist tempting offers in order to continue playing for us and pursue the right to wear a black jersey," Dalton said. "It is a shame Isa is even in this predicament and I hope long-term there will be a way he can play for the country he was born and raised in. Either way, our doors will always be open to him."
Nacewa said playing for the All Blacks would continue to be his long-term goal.
Troy Flavell yesterday indicated his future lay in a second sojourn overseas while Nick Evans was non-committal, saying only that he hoped to reach a decision soon.
With little sign the IRB were prepared to budge to end his international exile, Nacewa's decision was a no-brainer.
Blues coach David Nucifora has shaken up his backline for Friday night's must-win match against the Crusaders in Christchurch.
Nucifora has benched centre Isaia Toeava and shifted form back Anthony Tuitavake in from the wing. David Smith gets his first start of the season on the wing, while Anthony Boric has been promoted to start at lock.
