Unless someone coughs up $300,000, Rene Ranger won't be playing for the Blues next year. Photo / Greg Bowker
The shame is the Blues will not have Rene Ranger for their campaign next year.
The All Blacks will manage even with the impending sabbatical for Conrad Smith and exits of Richard Kahui and Tamati Ellison. They have enough players to cover the centre/wing areas Ranger inhabits.
Think Ben Smith,
Charles Piutau, Frank Halai, Ma'a Nonu, Francis Saili and Tom Taylor. Cory Jane may return to some sort of action in a few months, Robbie Fruean might get sorted.
However, the Blues may suffer more looking for someone to replicate the deeds of Ranger this season. Once Ranger signed an agreement late last year to play the next three seasons for Montpellier, his exit was confirmed. It could not be changed unless someone coughed up in the region of $300,000.
Who was going to do that? Not the NZRU and nor should they. The new Blues war chest? No way, Jose, creating that sort of precedent was far too ugly for either organisation.
