Can anyone explain to me?

Question

how does the NZRU tournament works?

I mean, first the player´s contracts, I understand that it is not the clubs that hire the players but the NZRU itself, if that is so, how do they determine which player goes to which club?

Second, what tournaments do they have, I heard about the Super 14, the Air NZ cup and others, different divisions and stuff like that, please explain.

Third, what players can be a part of the All Blacks? Do you have to be in a league in particular, or is it any player in NZ that can be a part of them?

And last, is it true that if a player leaves NZ to go play somewhere else, and therefore is no longer linked by a contract to the NZRU, he losses the possibility of being an All Black?

I'm from Argentina and things are quite different here, whatever the sport is that we're talking about.

Thanks for all your answers

Answer 1

um well i think this is how it works

it isnt nzru who determine which player goes to which club it is which ever club is willing to pay the most amount of money for that player to be contracted to their team

and the divisions um first it is things like king country and teams like them which are bascially full of teenages from school or people who arent good enough to play for a high division team after king count n all those minor teams comes air newzealand cup were bascially good rugby players play and if are good enough they get drafted to super 14 then yer super 14 were bascially most players have the potential to make all blacks

no i dont think players are restrected from being an all black if they go play for another team in another country however if you play for say the french and then move over to new zealand during your career you are not allowed to play for the all blacks

Answer 2

Hey mate, tboi didn't quite answer this question correctly.

Every player in New Zealand playing in our major tournaments is contracted to the NZRU. There are also separate contracts with local unions (provinces). Players usually play for the local union (province) that they live in but there is some trading. Clubs are  free to pick up a player in another area who does not have a contract or is in the draft. There are some rules to prevent unions getting too strong. For example a provincial side (Air NZ Cup team) can only contract one professional player per season.

The Super 14 and Air NZ Cup are the two main tournaments. Super 14 has 5 teams from NZ, 5 teams from South Africa and 4 teams from Australia. The Super 14 competition is considered a professional league.

The Air NZ Cup has 3 different divisions (or is it 2 now? They restructured the tournament last year). Divsion 1 contains 14 teams and has the best provinces in the country (e.g Auckland, Otago, Canterbury, Wellington etc). The other 2 divisions have smaller provinces and the quality of rugby is a big step down.

These are the only national competitions, apart from these tournaments people play in their local clubs. Local clubs are basically suburbs. The local club competition has levels, the top is premiere. Usually just called prems.

To qualify for the All Blacks you have to be contracted by the NZRU. So you must be playing in New Zealand rugby competitions. Players are picked from Super 14 and the Air NZ Cup. Once a player has a contract with an overseas club, they can no longer play for the All Blacks. This rule has come under some criticism but it looks like it is going to stay.

Hope this helps.