New Zealanders need to accept that losing players to overseas clubs is simply a reality of the modern game, according to legendary All Blacks head coach Sir Steve Hansen.<\/p>\n
A plethora of top players will leave Aotearoa at the end of the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season, including the likes of Hoskins Sotutu, Dalton Papali\u2019i, Xavier Roe, Sevu Reece, and Fehi Fineanganofo, who has been in outrageous form this campaign.<\/p>\n
This comes after the departures of Tom Christie, Fergus Burke, Harry Plummer, Ricky Riccitelli, Mark Tele\u2019a, Shaun Stevenson, Levi Aumua and Sam Gilbert, to name just a few.<\/p>\n
The flow of players out of the country is unlikely to stem after next season, with the end of a World Cup cycle usually leading to an increased exodus.<\/p>\n
NZ Rugby need to look after the train<\/p>\n
Speaking on the DSPN Podcast with Martin Devlin<\/a>, Hansen explained that because there are just five Kiwi Super Rugby<\/a> teams, there are limited opportunities for players and New Zealand<\/a> has to accept that players will leave their shores.<\/p>\n Hansen<\/a> is confident that the country can continue to produce talented players to fill the voids being left by those heading abroad but says that NZ Rugby has to look after its pathways.<\/p>\n \u201cThe train will stop if we don\u2019t keep working hard underneath it,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd there\u2019s enough understanding to know that we probably aren\u2019t doing as good a job down there at the moment as we could be. But they are looking at that and they will find a way.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m excited by the leadership of this rugby union at the moment. They\u2019re making good decisions. They\u2019re making well-thought-out decisions. They\u2019re not being rushed into anything. When they do make a decision, it\u2019s been based on a good process and good people are being put into seats on the bus. When you get the right people in the right seats on the bus, then good things happen.<\/p>\n Wallabies v All Blacks Anzac Test \u2018almost certain\u2019 as Dave Rennie\u2019s role revealed in NZR\u2019s change of heart<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got an opportunity coming up. There\u2019s a new role coming [high-performance director at New Zealand Rugby] which will be exciting to see who gets that, and I\u2019m sure they\u2019ll put the right person in there. That person will work with a team to help create a pathway that has probably slipped a little, to be honest.<\/p>\n \u201cI do believe that there\u2019s plenty of talent being produced; we just have to go back to making sure we have good pathways for it to come through and show that you care about them. I mean, a lot of people are going offshore and that\u2019s just because of the lack of opportunities or the lack of recognition. Young people need to know that they\u2019ve got a chance; otherwise, they\u2019ll take the other chances that they\u2019re being offered.<\/p>\n \u201cLeague has always been out there; it\u2019s not new. Offshore clubs have been out there for a long time, too. So, we\u2019re not just building players for the All Blacks or Super Rugby or NPC rugby; we are building players for two other areas as well. We have to make sure we are doing that well.\u201d<\/p>\n Sir Steve Hansen urges Dave Rennie to pinch \u2018one or two things\u2019 from Springboks but All Blacks shouldn\u2019t \u2018copy\u2019 Rassie Erasmus<\/a><\/p>\n Create an environment that entices players to remain in New Zealand<\/p>\n However, Hansen added that it is important NZ Rugby creates an \u2018exciting\u2019 environment to entice players to remain in New Zealand. \u201cWell, we have to understand and accept that\u2019s what could happen because it is happening. So, it\u2019s a reality [that players are leaving]. What are we going to do about it? We\u2019ve just got to make sure that we keep developing enough players for our own market as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Hansen believes that keeping young players engaged in the sport is particularly important, using the example of there being really only one rugby school in Hamilton and what happens if a player isn\u2019t making the age-grade teams.<\/p>\n \u201cUnless you are so obviously good, no one knows who\u2019s going to be good at under-15, I don\u2019t care who you are. If you went and said: \u2018Right, him, him, him, and him\u2019, you\u2019d probably be wrong at that age unless they\u2019re a superstar. It\u2019s easy to find the superstars. We have to find the guys that become superstars later in their career, and we\u2019ve got to give them opportunities and excitement to stay here and be involved in the game. That\u2019s the job of our pathways,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Another growing threat for New Zealand is dual-qualified players who take up opportunities abroad with the prospect of playing international rugby for another country. Burke is one example of this, as the former Crusaders pivot has gone on to represent Scotland after making the move to Saracens.<\/p>\n Rugby World Cup winner\u2019s \u2018beware the underdog\u2019 warning to Rassie Erasmus and Springboks ahead of much-anticipated All Blacks series<\/a><\/p>\n The threat of dual-qualified players<\/p>\n Riley Higgins could follow suit, with the Hurricanes back joining Edinburgh at the end of the season, while Crusaders scrum-half Louie Chapman has also signed with the same club. Asked how New Zealand Rugby stops those kinds of departures, Hansen remarked: \u201c\u201dWell, sometimes you don\u2019t. That\u2019s the reality.<\/p>\n \u201cBut at least we got him to that point where we\u2019ve kept him to that point, and then it\u2019s about making the jersey so exciting, making wanting to play for the All Blacks an exciting thing.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s probably changed a wee bit over the last while; we\u2019ve had a lot of in-house fighting and lack of unity, if we\u2019re being honest with ourselves. So the jersey has lost a little bit of its glow for the young Kiwi kids because they\u2019re not seeing everybody or hearing everybody talking about how great it is.<\/p>\n