First big name AB signs to move post world cup - John Afoa

[Larksea]

He's actually looked really good for the AB's recently. The scrum always looked good when he came on and he maybe one of the better "ball in hand" props of the current crop.

That plus his ability to cover both sides and even hooker plus a nice little ~30m try he scored on the last EoY tour must have caught the eye of the north and he's been snapped up.

Sounds like he should do very well from the deal, also he would have evaluated his AB prospects where Owen Franks looks like he may have a monopoly on the #3 jersey for some time to come.

Still a loss for NZ. All eyes will now be on what the likes of Cory Jane & Mils will do. Mils has been making noises for some time about a move north so he's sure to go and sounds like Cory Jane has some big offers on the table.

The biggest News will be on what Dan Carter & Richie McCaw do. McCaw will likely stay, carter will be 50/50.

 

[Kiwiwomble]

Mils i am not too worried about, he has done his tour of duty and with dagg, smith and Jane coming though im happy with fullback....Jane is the concern though, i would love for him to stay long term but i just get the "wants to do an OE" feeling from him and so would not be surprised to see him go

Carter I would say is almost certain to go too, might not be a bad thing for us to be FORCED to find a replacement

 

[nickdnz]

Hang on, where has Afoa signed?

Regardless, Afoa has looked good recently, so a good sign to who ever gets him. I think they should make it a 2 for 1 deal and take Tialata with him.

Mils leaving is not an issue at all. Right now he's arguably the worst performing fullback of any of the NZ side, and with Cory Jane, Isaia Toeava, Tim Nanai-Williams, Israel Dagg and even Ben Smith, he won't really be missed. He's been a good player, but leaving with probably 100 tests is more than any player could wish for. I'd be suprised if Cory Jane leaves. He's still got perhaps another WC left in him if he stays. That would be a genuine loss, as while we have plenty of back up, he does offer a lot of class at both wing and fullback.

EDIT: Afoa has signed for Ulster

 

[Larksea]

ulster: http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/all-blacks/4777053/All-Blacks-prop-John-Afoa-signs-with-Ulster

 

[dan the man]

Good for him... He's not a starting All Black (he's lucky if he gets on the bench). So it's a wise move for him, players leaving NZ shores to make big $$$ elsewhere is always a bit stink but understandable.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

He's not a starting All Black (he's lucky if he gets on the bench).

Was always a bit perplexed by this - you only have to watch the end of year tour to see how much the AB scrum sured up when he stepped on the field

 

[nickdnz]

Was always a bit perplexed by this - you only have to watch the end of year tour to see how much the AB scrum sured up when he stepped on the field

Yeah, I've always rated him. His scrummaging hasn't always been brilliant, but he's always had a good work rate, and he's suprisingly quick for a prop.

 

[Peat]

Well I'm happy.

Incidentally, rumours has it we're talking to Cory Jane.

 

[ranger]

Well I'm happy.

Incidentally, rumours has it we're talking to Cory Jane.

You and every other club in the Northern Hemisphere mind.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

A question for New Zealanders:

Why can't your franchises afford to keep their players? In a market that is roughly the same size as Ireland's, you have a more marketable brand (the All Blacks), better stadia, bigger crowds and a bigger TV deal through Super rugby. Despite this the IRFU have no problem keeping hold of their players and paying for some marquee signings from abroad.

 

[nickdnz]

A question for New Zealanders:

Why can't your franchises afford to keep their players? In a market that is roughly the same size as Ireland's, you have a more marketable brand (the All Blacks), better stadia, bigger crowds and a bigger TV deal through Super rugby. Despite this the IRFU have no problem keeping hold of their players and paying for some marquee signings from abroad.

Well for several reasons:

1. We do not have as big crowds, despite having as big stadiums.
2. Each franchise is owned by the NZRU.
3. Each and every players in the NPC and Super Rugby is paid by the NZRU, which has well over 200 paid players.

Regardless of that, the money that can be made up north is potentially huge, especially in France, where all teams are essentially privately owned.

There are plenty of reasons why NZ doesn't get much money from the games, and that's because the price to see a live game is silly. Westpac Stadium for a Hurricanes match would average around 5,000 people, filling a 32,000 capacity stadium. If they lowered the price to say $20, I'm sure they would make more money and fill the stadium more often. That being said, filled stadiums are more of a bonus, as the money is really made in the TV deals.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Well for several reasons:

1. We do not have as big crowds, despite having as big stadiums.
2. Each franchise is owned by the NZRU.
3. Each and every players in the NPC and Super Rugby is paid by the NZRU, which has well over 200 paid players.

Regardless of that, the money that can be made up north is potentially huge, especially in France, where all teams are essentially privately owned.

There are plenty of reasons why NZ doesn't get much money from the games, and that's because the price to see a live game is silly. Westpac Stadium for a Hurricanes match would average around 5,000 people, filling a 32,000 capacity stadium. If they lowered the price to say $20, I'm sure they would make more money and fill the stadium more often. That being said, filled stadiums are more of a bonus, as the money is really made in the TV deals.

Thanks for replying.

A lot of the points you raise apply equally to the IRFU. The IRFU own Leinster, Munster, Ulster and Connacht- they fully fund each team but it's up to the provinces to decide how they spend their money. The crowds here aren't that big either. Leinster and Munster average around 15,000, Ulster average around 9,000 and Connacht average 1 man and a dog. Magners League TV money and sponsorship is miniscule. Still the IRFU can afford to keep the top players at home.

How much are ticket prices? Here I pay around â'¬360 for a season ticket of 14 games. That's roughly NZ$700.

 

[markshaw]

Where else would the Irish players go? Would it be fair to say that the rich clubs in England and France would rather sign players from NZ , Aus and S.A over Celtic players??

 

[TRF_Olyy]

"Rich clubs in England"
You do realise we have a salary cap? It's not as if they're being offered £1m contracts

 

[markshaw]

...fair enough..but it would be safe to say they do better then the NZ players?

 

[William18]

Thanks for replying.

A lot of the points you raise apply equally to the IRFU. The IRFU own Leinster, Munster, Ulster and Connacht- they fully fund each team but it's up to the provinces to decide how they spend their money. The crowds here aren't that big either. Leinster and Munster average around 15,000, Ulster average around 9,000 and Connacht average 1 man and a dog. Magners League TV money and sponsorship is miniscule. Still the IRFU can afford to keep the top players at home.

How much are ticket prices? Here I pay around â'¬360 for a season ticket of 14 games. That's roughly NZ$700.

We don't pay that much for season tickets but we probably get a few less games.

I don't know how accurate you are in saying that we don't keep our best players? I do not keep up with how former players go overseas but I don't think there is anyone oversea who would make the All Blacks. The only one I can think of is Nick Evans but he would only make it as a back up. Maybe Rico Gear also if he is playing well but I think Jane and his brother are better players.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Where else would the Irish players go? Would it be fair to say that the rich clubs in England and France would rather sign players from NZ , Aus and S.A over Celtic players??

The advantage of signing players from NZ, SA and Oz is that they generally won't play international rugby and will be available to their clubs in November and during the 6 Nations. That said, a hell of a lot of non-international Irish players are in the Premiership. French clubs seem to target quite a few Irish internationals. Very few move because they're offered good packages to stay here.

 

[markshaw]

so they should, playing in your home country is so much easier for the player i think. If the super 15 franchises went privite or semi privite we might stand a chance of keeping our players here for sure

 

[dan the man]

Sivivatu has also announced that he may not be around next year. French club Clermont are working on securing him for next season...

http://www.superxv.com/news/super15_rugby_news.asp?id=29462

 

[smartcooky]

Comparing Ireland with New Zealand population-wise might be valid, but market-wise is a lot different.

Ireland is in the Euro-market, 475 million people

New Zealand is in the Australasian market 25 million people

Ireland's team sponsor is O2, a slightly colossal internet and mobile phone provider. Their total revenue in 2009 was €13½ BILLION (NZ$26 BILLION). That is a fifth of the GDP of the whole of NZ!!!!

If the All Blacks were sponsored by Fonterra (NZ's biggest company at NZ$16.7 billion) we'd probably be able to pay all our All Blacks enough so that they would never even consider an offer from anywhere else.