DEPARTURE LOUNGE
FILLING UP
FIRST PIATAU CHARLES then
Colin Sl
ade – these u
nexpected
departures have left the All Blacks
nervous about whether they will lose
any more players they want to keep
beyond this year.
Piutau’s decision to leave for Ulster
next year came as a shock to the New
Zealand Rugby Union, partly because
they thought he’d committed to stay
and partly because at 23 and with
a significant All Black future ahead
of him, they didn’t think he’d be
vulnerable to oshore oers.
Piutau’s departure was clouded
by the fact he signed a contract
extension to stay in New Zealand
but didn’t return it. He held o as a
late oer came from Ulster and after
assessing it in full, he decided to
take
i
t.
That left All Black coach Steve
Hansen a little mied. “I’m extremely
disappointed he’s going,” Hansen said.
“He was a person we were hoping
would grow over time after this World
Cup in to one of our senior players.
We’ve put a lot of time and eort
into him so we’re disappointed he’s
decided to go down that route.”
It is believed Piutau was oered
$1m a year to play in Ireland and said
it was money he couldn’t turn down.
Slade was also oered a huge deal to
play in Pau with Conrad Smith.
The All Blacks were keen to keep
him as well – as Daniel Carter is
leaving as is Tom Taylor. But after
careful consideration, Slade said:
“This is certainly not a decision taken
lightly. I have given it a lot of thought
and considered all my options, but I
am now satisfied that moving to Pau
after this year is the right decision for
me at this point in my life.
“Pau is a club with great ambition
that is really keen to establish itself
in France, and the chance to play in
the Top 14 and potentially European
Cup is an exciting new challenge for
me. My wife and I are also excited
to have the opportunity to live in
the South of France and travel
around Europe in between rugby
commitments.
“I want to make it clear that I still
have goals to achieve this year and
remain absolutely committed to
giving 100 per cent until I leave.”
At the time of going to print Julian
Savea, Brodie Retallick and Ryan
Crotty were yet to confirm their plans
beyond 2015.
THE
BREAKDOWN
OUR ROUND-UP OF THE RELEVANT AND RANDOM BITS OF INFORMATION THAT YOU MAY HAVE MISSED
8
// NZ WORLD RUGBY // JUNE/JULY 2015
NZRU BACK
IN THE
BLACK
EW
N
RUGBY ZEALAND posted a
reduced profit of $
323,000 in 2014,
but chief executive Steve Tew is
confident the finances of the national
body are in good shape.
The key to the picture remaining
healthy was the growth in revenue
which was up 3.2 per cent to $120.8
million. That increase was largely a
result of more sponsorship income
while the test match in Chicago
returned
m
ore
t
han
f
orecast.
Osetting the rise in revenue
was the 5.3 per cent increase in
costs. These were across the board
but mainly due to more being
pumped into player payments and
competition improvements.
The overall picture at provincial
level was again healthy with the
combined accounts of the 14 ITM Cup
teams showing a collective surplus,
but four unions did post losses.
“Much good work has been
undertaken
b
y
un
ions
i
n
r
ecent
years to work smarter and look for
innovative ways to grow commercial
income so it’s great news to see
another
c
ollective
s
urplus,”
T
ew
s
aid.
“The
sma
ller
s
urplus
un
derlines
t
he
fact that challenges to grow income
and contain costs remain and we will
continue to oer advice and support
as
need
ed.”
A new broadcast deal has been
agreed from 2016 – one that Tew
says is a significant increase on the
existing deal and that more sponsors
are expected to be announced soon.
BIG LOSS
Colin Slade’s
decision to play in
France next year
could hurt the All
Blacks.
SAME AGAIN
Many rugby fans
will be hoping Craig
Joubert referees the
2015 World Cup
final.