Henry backs restriction rule

RUGBY NEWS: ELIGIBILITY FOR the All Blacks should continue to be restricted to players based in New Zealand but the situation may change in the future, coach Graham Henry said yesterday.

Henry, who is finalising his squad for the team's Northern Hemisphere tour next month, said he was not in favour of picking overseas-based players, even if they were playing for Australian or South African Super 14 sides.

Auckland Blues flanker Daniel Braid, who played a Test for New Zealand this year, is to join Australia's Queensland Reds next season, making him ineligible for the All Blacks. Henry said he was not keen for the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) to change its rules to allow players like Braid to play for the All Blacks.

"There may be (a change) in the future because I know SANZAR are looking to widen Super 14. When that occurs . . . then that may be a factor but at the moment no, because I think it decreases the value of New Zealand rugby," Henry said. "It will decrease the quality of the game that is played here . . . and I think it would decrease the interest in the game and the money from television. I agree with the current situation."

The All Blacks, who won the Tri-Nations and the Bledisloe Cup this year, are to play Australia in Hong Kong on November 1st before both teams head to Europe for Tests.

The match at Hong Kong's national stadium has been organised to ostensibly open the game to a new market and generate additional revenue. "It's a good thing for rugby itself and a good business decision by the New Zealand and Australian rugby unions," Henry said. "We have to look at the financial return and this is a good way to fund grassroots rugby. It also opens up new markets . . ."

© 2008 The Irish Times

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times