Wellington to farewell another big star

Wellington rugby have signalled they are about to farewell another big name - flanker Kupu Vanisi - after confirming they have signed Southland tearaway Ben Herring on a two-year contract.

Herring, 23, Southland's NPC player of 2002, will join the province at the end of the year and be available for the Hurricanes in the Super 12.

But in announcing Herring's signing, Wellington chief executive Malcolm Holmes conceded Vanisi, a Tongan-born 30-year-old and one of the hardest working and most popular Hurricanes, was on his way out.

The union have already lost two of their biggest stars in the past eight days - backs Paul Steinmetz and Christian Cullen to Irish sides Ulster and Munster respectively, and have Jonah Lomu off contract soon and severely ill.

"While Kupu Vanisi is having an outstanding season, his contract is up at the end of the year and he has indicated to us that he is looking at options offshore," Holmes said.

If Vanisi is unable to secure a deal, Wellington will "sit down and talk with him" about a contract extension.

"There's always injuries in the loose forwards. Kupu's been a great servant," Holmes said.

However, Wellington have invested wisely in the 1.8m, 95kg Herring. He was a member of the Highlanders' Super 12 side this year but played only two games before being injured.

He was a standout in last year's NPC and will do the same type of work that Vanisi, another brought in from the deep south (from Otago in 1999), has done so effectively.

"He suits our style," Holmes said. "We have ball-carrying No 6s and 8s [All Blacks Jerry Collins and Rodney So'oialo] so it's important you have a No 7 who turns the ball over and frees it up."

Ironically, Herring's first hit-out for Southland in this year's NPC is against Wellington, at Westpac Stadium on August 16.

He played in the southern side that beat Wellington in Invercargill last year and scored a try.

Though he was playing club rugby in Invercargill, he was actually on loan from Otago last year after moving to university there. He was raised in Auckland.

Meanwhile, Holmes was coy on Wellington's other targets in the transfer market.

"We've got a lot of home-grown talent coming through," he said.

* Otago's Greg Cooper and Southland's Phil Young are the hot favourites to fill the vacant Highlanders' Super 12 coach's jobs.

Highlanders chairman Colin Weatherall said interviews had started but declined to give further details.

A selection panel, which included Weatherall, Highlanders deputy chairman Graham Cooney and NZRU representative Greg Peterson, are conducting the interviews.

The New Zealand Rugby Union confirmed there had been eight applications for the job.

It is believed Cooper, Otago's NPC coach and this season's Highlanders assistant, is now the front-runner for the head coach's job, and Young, coach of Southland, his deputy.

Former Southland coach Leicester Rutledge was one of the other candidates to be interviewed.

Neither Tony Gilbert, now coaching in Britain, nor Wales coach Steve Hansen had applied.

- NZPA