NEW ZEALAND RUGBY have announced a partnership with English club Harlequins that could reportedly see star All Blacks on international sabbaticals playing for the London-based side.
NZR chief executive Steve Tew said the deal was ‘new territory’ for his organisation and would help it tap into commercial opportunities among London’s large expatriate Kiwi community.
“This alignment will create significant opportunities for both sides, with players, coaches and staff able to learn from different environments with different people, challenges and cultures,” Tew said in a statement.
The statement said NZR would cooperate on ‘playing and coaching resources’, as well as leveraging commercial opportunities, but offered scant detail on how the deal would work in practice.
The New Zealand Herald reported that All Blacks taking a break from the rigours of international rugby could turn out for Harlequins.
Sabbaticals have become standard for top All Blacks looking to freshen up in recent years as NZR attempts to stop cashed-up overseas clubs poaching its talent.
The likes of Dan Carter, Richie McCaw and Sonny Bill Williams all had sabbaticals built into their contracts designed to keep them with the All Blacks long term.
The issue of player retention has become more pressing for the world champions as those in the prime of their career such as Lima Sopoaga, Steven Luatua and Aaron Cruden opt to take the club cash on offer in Europe.
The deal is also likely to see Harlequins coaches and players heading to New Zealand to gain experience playing southern hemisphere rugby.
“The All Blacks are the benchmark of excellence for all teams, so to be able to align with them both on and off the pitch will be of significant benefit to the club,” chief executive David Ellis said.
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
It is not general practice in Ireland to sell off ex patrol cars. They are buckets of scrap by the time they reach end of life. Wouldn’t surprise me if Shatter bid on the car. Would do for patrolling the areas where he closed down stations. (Forgive me for linking this story to the govt)
Its not general practice with all patrol cars, however, provided the car is in good condition when retired, they are auctioned off in Ireland
Great. What charity is he donating the proceeds to?
There’s no mention of a charity through the whole article and I would assume that its the police department rather than an individual selling the car, considering its a squad car. This is the general practice among most police departments to auction off the used cars.