OPINION: The revelation from Players’ Association boss Rob Nicol that the All Blacks spearheading the Brisbane Global Tens advertising drive will not appear at next month’s two-day tournament was music to my ears.
Thankfully, sanity has prevailed.
The very idea that our biggest and brightest rugby talents would be at risk for the sake of a few dollars for Duco’s coffers and so that rugby, in the light of the evaporation in popularity of the Wellington Sevens weekend, could have a two day event to rival the NRL Nines, is hard to fathom.
With the issue underlined by the fact that 2017 has already seen the threat that some of those same talents are heading overseas, the Tens was complete nonsense to begin with.
Nothing but a clever, albeit tired marketing ploy implemented by a company whose focus is purely the bottom line.
It was already hard to justify the temporary absence of players eager to chase glory with the All Blacks Sevens and it was made harder considering Sonny Bill Williams’ long term injury suffered at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
If the NRL wants to compromise its key stars by placing them at such an unnecessary risk, that’s fine.
They’ll be left to deal with the fallout and the growing chorus of coaches and general managers unhappy that their stars are being ‘licensed’ out to third parties like Duco and used purely as money-making tools.
New Zealand Rugby has always been about more than money, something that’s reflected in the player selection policy that’s come increasingly under fire.
NZRU hasn't yet responded to claims from both Duco and the Players' Association. But when they do, I hope they make the right decision.
