All Blacks’ eligibility tradition isn’t worth losing the nation’s best talent

Richie Mo’unga might be the most talked about All Black of 2024 so far and the former Crusaders No.10 isn’t even eligible to represent New Zealand for the foreseeable future.

Mo’unga, 29, has penned a three-year deal with Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo in Japan which makes the seven-time Super Rugby champion ineligible for national duty with the All Blacks.

At least for now, new All Blacks coach Scott Robertson is unable to call upon the familiar playmaker – the keywords being ‘at least for now.’ That could change if ‘Razor’ gets his wish.

New Zealand rugby is in desperate need of an eligibility rules overhaul in order for the All Blacks to return to ‘world champions’ status. Robertson knows that, too.

All the talk, rumours and speculation have linked Robertson’s intent to change things with a Mo’unga reunion, but that’s just the start – the start of necessary change.

New Zealand Rugby needs to implement an eligibility rules overhaul so that Robertson can keep selecting “the best players available for the All Blacks.” Otherwise, New Zealand’s best rugby days may be behind them.

“What I’ve talked and presented to the board, the CEOs of Super Rugby, the Pus (provincial unions), of Heartland… is around keeping an open mind in that space,” Robertson told reporters earlier this month.

“That’s what I’ve asked for.

“I’ve not asked, ‘Can I please have someone come and play for us?’ But keep an open mind (about) where the game is at the moment. It’s moving quite quickly, as we know.

“There’s a lot (going) on and off field, with players and decisions and contracting.

“I want to be a step ahead of it, so keep an open mind.”

The All Blacks bid farewell to a number of retiring legends after last year’s one-point defeat in the Rugby World Cup final.

Brodie Retallick and Dane Coles have both called time on their Test careers and they’re currently plying their trade in Japan, and Sam Whitelock is with Pau in France.

While they haven’t ruled out a return to All Blacks honours in the future, overseas-based Richie Mo’unga, Shannon Frizell and Leicester Fainga’anuku are now all ineligible under current rules as well.

Retallick, Frizell and Mo’unga all started last year’s World Cup final. If there was another Test tomorrow, and hypothetically they were available, they’d absolutely be in the team.

But instead, the All Blacks are left in a desperate bid to foster emerging talent; hoping that they can produce something special on the field, but knowing deep down that others could do it better.

There are no better blindside flankers in New Zealand than Frizell. Only Damian McKenzie could rival Mo’unga for the All Blacks’ No. 10 jersey, too – but even that’s a stretch under Robertson.

For a team that expects to win every time they step on the rugby field, the All Blacks will instead go through a transition period of sorts this year. The same can’t be said for the world champions, though.

Back-to-back Rugby World Cup champions South Africa scrapped their overseas-based player policy ahead of a three-Test series against England in 2018. As history will forever show, this has worked in their favour.

With players now having the freedom to play overseas – not having to choose between money and the love of their country – the Springboks have thrived on the world stage.

After beating the All Blacks and Eddie Jones’ England on their way to the Webb Ellis Cup in 2019, South Africa backed that up with another World Cup triumph four years later.

Of the 14 players who started against the All Blacks at Stade de France last October – not including Duane Vermeulen who has since retired – nine are playing their club rugby out of South Africa.

Hooker Bongi Mbonambi is with the Sharks, prop Frans Malherbe still plays for the Stormers, lock Eben Etzebeth is also with the Sharks, wing Kurt-Lee Arendse represents the Bulls and Damian Willemse dons the Stormers’ jersey.

But that’s it.

Among the standouts from that team, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Damian De Allende, Jesse Kriel and Cheslin Kolbe are all in Japan, and two-time Rugby World Cup-winning skipper Siya Kolisi is with Racing 92 in France.

That’s been the secret to the Springboks’ success.

The Stormers have hosted the last two United Rugby Championship finals, too, and the Sharks currently sit atop of their pool in the Challenge Cup.

All that being said, it’s very possible that Super Rugby would suffer from an eligibility rule, so any changes would have to be considered with caution.

Being an All Black carries some serious weight in negotiations with overseas clubs, so there would be nothing stopping a Kiwi with a few caps from testing the open market.

That obviously won’t fly.

The Giteau law in 2015 was a step in the right direction for the Wallabies – you reward players who have served Australian rugby for years domestically with an opportunity to remain eligible abroad.

That paid off, too, with the Wallabies defying the odds to reach the Rugby World Cup final in 2015.

The previously mentioned overseas-based policy for the Springboks is also intriguing. It prevented the Springboks from selecting overseas-based players with less than 30 caps.

For the sake of New Zealand rugby, those examples are what NZR should consider should they decide to change the eligible rules – which again, they simply need to do.

Players should only be made to pick between international honours and a handsome payday when they haven’t earned the right to test the open market abroad.

But for the likes of Mo’unga, considering the history the exciting playmaker has added to the All Blacks’ legacy, tradition isn’t worth losing a player of that calibre completely.