Andrew Hore: Are the Blues hoarding All Black first fives?

New Zealand Rugby are keeping the door ajar over a potential Super Rugby draft in the future.

It comes as the Blues opt to carry three All Blacks in their first-five stocks for the 2025 Super Rugby season, while the Crusaders sign former Wallaby James O'Connor to help with their depth at the position.

Blues CEO Andrew Hore chats to D'Arcy around accusations of All Blacks 'hoarding'.

LISTEN ABOVE 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sports Talk podcast with Duncy Wilder
Grave from news Talk z'd be.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
We're joined now in sports Talk by Andrew Haway, is
the CEO of the champion Super Rugby Blues. Do you
like the sound of that, Andrew and welcome?

Speaker 3 (00:22):
Yeah. Well, let's I think the key is making sure
it brings true next year as well, now, doesn't it.
That's all sort of behind us.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
Break the rear vision that is off and look forward
and you have the team is out, the squad is out,
and there's been some questions around apparently are you blokes
to stop piling first five eight? I'd say you've got
a first five eight to complay full back, another first
five eight to complay fullback, and a first five eight
is actually a second five eight. So what do you

(00:52):
say to these accusations that you're hoarding them?

Speaker 3 (00:54):
Mate? Well, absolute rubbish. And I think if there's wherever
you are in the country, there's always it was locks
for the Chiefs at one stage, right, it's the Crusaders
were tens a few years ago. What we're focused on
is making an environment that people want to stay here

(01:15):
and getting our development moving. And if it was only
a few years ago people were shutting out that Plumber
should leave so and it was actually Leon who had
faith that Harry would come through. And I think from
there Arn's got the best out of them beyond that.

(01:38):
So this is about development. It's about doing that well
and you've got to reward good development. We've done it
for long enough with one other franchise in particular, and
I'm not here to make friends and send players around
the country when we're trying to do our best that
we can do to make an environment where people want
to stay and come to and.

Speaker 2 (01:59):
That reward is not only for the player but for
the franchise too.

Speaker 3 (02:04):
It works.

Speaker 2 (02:05):
You don't do this just them. You do it for
them and yourselves and the fan base.

Speaker 3 (02:10):
Correct and you know other franchises Lucas Keshmore moved from
here and it's gone to the Hurricanes, and the Boy
Morgan's gone to Ireland, so there are people around. It's
about doing your homework, finding those young people and putting
them into a program that brings them through and your right.
If we do the work, then it does make it

(02:33):
easier for you succession planning. People may argue that's what
we weren't doing before, Well, you can't argue when we're
starting to do it. And then we're very proud of
the work that's gone and here for a number of people,
and we believe we've got to keep going and keep
moving forward.

Speaker 2 (02:50):
See the Blues. Andrew Horr joins us, so in Zi
don't lean on you, the all black coaching staff, don't
lean on you. You're free to do what you want
to do and make the choices you want to make
along with the playing stuff.

Speaker 3 (03:03):
Yet, yes, and I think the key here is the
players have choice in what happens here. And also I
think they appreciate that injuries happen, rotation has to happen
of these players, and that's why we're looking, you know,
Harry Pace twelve as you said, and you know even
voting Canada a pinch along with along with fifteen and

(03:26):
so on. So you need depth in new squads. But
if you look around our competition, it's got strength and depth.
Burn's talked about it's the best competition in the world.
So just that some teams at present point in time,
in certain positions have depth in those certain positions, and
that's always going to be the case.

Speaker 2 (03:45):
You'd always hear drums beating for a draft. This has
been going around for a long long time. Engine are
on a post to it, but they're not going to
climb into it straight away. Is there a place for
a draft system in super Rugby? Do you think, Andrew?

Speaker 3 (03:57):
Well, we're open to discussing that. I think though there's
a couple of things that people throw that around and
don't understand the consequences of such a right. So the
first thing is, if you start a draft, you start
to penalize those that are investing in development. And our
role that we've adopted is we're going to develop talent.

(04:19):
Right everyone said, can't keep hold of it. We used
to remember when I first come here, you lose all
your talent mode. Okay, So now we're investing and we're
keeping that talent and those young people are driving the
benefit hopefully from being successful and they'll move through. So
first thing you got to work outs, well, how do
you reward people to do development, because otherwise those that

(04:41):
don't do any derive the benefit of your hard work.
And the second thing is, and that is I'm comfortable
to talk about it more, but how do we then
get the commercial model to work? So that everybody gets
rewarded as well from that commercial widel So who to
do it with Australia the bigger economy. So how do

(05:01):
we then move the commercial inventory about so that our
commission can make money and then dish that money out
equally or not equally, depending on who's doing the development.
So there's some bigger issues that you've got to put
into context and just oh well, if we make a draft,
everything will be fine in the garden. The consequences could

(05:22):
be a lot more dire than what you think. So
it needs to be carefully thought out and there needs
to be and there are some great models around the
world that we can look at. They can give us
the answers to that, kareful what you wish for.

Speaker 2 (05:35):
And finally, Andrew Horn, as always, thanks very much for
joining us. We've got the New Zealand Rugby Plies Association
as well when it comes to a draft, and I'm
sure their fairly interested in the effect would have on
their members too, and they have a lot of power.

Speaker 3 (05:49):
Yeah, they do. And they were a professional organization, which
means the professional player in our environment, ahead of any
other rugby environment is probably is stronger and they should
because there are employees and they should have a voice
just like any so correct, we'd have to there's a
lot of consultation and a lot of consideration that it

(06:13):
has to be made from that.

Speaker 1 (06:15):
For more from sports talk, listen live to news Talks.
They'd be from seven pm weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio.