Chiefs

ruckingkiwi says...

I'm disappointed he's leaving but wish him the best, his choices in life are his business and it seems he's making the most of his opportunities. People should be thankful for the contribution he made while he was here, donating $100,000 to Chch was epic and should not be underestimated, he reignited a great deal of interest in rugby (and boxing) and never shied away from the media or his fans, almost always being the last guy left with the kids posing for pics and signing memorabilia, actually cannot think of ever once hearing a bad word said about the guy... and after todays announcement, a national broadcaster challenged listeners to call his show to discuss their experiences with the guy and no one had anything but praise for the way he conducted himself. Definitely miss watching him play, my interest in the RC has gone down considerably, unfortunately.

Posted 11:34 09th July 2012

philb87 says...

@Markpat. I think you have it spot on.

This his profession. Of course money plays a part. Especially when they are not earning the huge sums possible in football. The risk of severe injury as shown by the likes of Matt Hampson is far greater too.

As for it's impact on the All Blacks, they already have a balanced and experienced pairing in Nonu and Smith. Nonu looks to be on fire since his enforced rest and that can only bode well for NZ in the Rugby Championship.

The main problem is ho backs them up?

Perhaps this it is time to have a crack at the Cruden/Carter combination with Smith on their outside.

Dumptackle rugby blog wrote an interesting article on the whole SBW situation and the potential for strategy change from the All Blacks coaches.

Posted 11:27 09th July 2012

carpelone says...

Pity. Now that he was starting showing something interesting..

Posted 10:24 09th July 2012

marzie says...

In a sport as dangerous as rugby, where one's career can be cut short at any moment, SBW has picked the financial stability that his talent has given him a chance to earn. Where's the harm and who here could in all honesty claim they would do any different if the opportunity arose?

Posted 10:10 09th July 2012

markpat says...

Personally, I think there is a huge over-reaction of fans to this story - it's almost as bad as football fans which is a sad thing to see.

Rugby players have no obligation to show and allegiance to the sport, the country or even the club.

If a rugby players gets injured and his career cut short, that sport / country / club won't finance the rest of his life.

It's a job, at the end of the day. If your colleagues quit their job, do you whine and moan about their commitment to their profession and company?

From a purely rugby perspective, howevere, I really hope he returns after his stint in Japan and RL as this season he has improved immensely.

If I were an all black fan, I'd actually be a little worried about the depth at inside centre. Yes, there are loads of outside centres at the moment, but who currently would fill Nonu's spot if he were unavailable? Crotty? Carter moving to 12?

NZ spent a long time waiting for Nono / Smith to emerge as a centre pairing. For their sake, I hope that they discover a good inside centre to backup Nonu in SBW's absence.

Posted 09:55 09th July 2012

dwayne says...

No jediboy its real, just not for people like SBW.

Posted 09:29 09th July 2012

Herbman says...

Such a shame... he would undoubtably have been one of the game's all time greats. Instead, nobody will remember him 4 years from now.

Posted 09:07 09th July 2012

kenyanguy says...

what a waste going back to that restricted sport league he would have been one of the greats in union ,well i suppose financial stability comes first

Posted 08:07 09th July 2012

Jediboy says...

So all this stuff about playing for the black shirt, the ultimate pride to be an All Black, is all nonsense when stacked against money.

Posted 08:05 09th July 2012