Crusaders loosie backs out of Japan deal
TRANSFER NEWS: Crusaders loose forward Jordan Taufua has decided to turn down the opportunity to play for Japanese club Sagamihara Dynaboars.
Taufua, who was named in the All Blacks squad to play France during the June Test series but never played because of a calf injury, was set to leave the Crusaders at the end of the Super Rugby season.
But, the 26-year-old has been granted a release from the Japanese club to play for Tasman, making him eligible for the All Blacks call-up.
The All Blacks selectors will choose a 33-man squad for the Bledisloe Cup and Rugby Championship and, as Taufua was a member of the group picked for the domestic series against France, he will likely be retained.
If he is selected, Tasman could have four All Blacks on their books – Shannon Frizell, Liam Squire, Tim Perry and Taufua – leaving Mako coach Leon MacDonald to look further afield for replacements, especially at loose forward.
The rugged loosie is contracted to return to the Crusaders in 2019.
Tasman Rugby Union chief executive officer Tony Lewis, who confirmed that Taufua had signed with the union, said he and MacDonald had been talking with Taufua’s manager “virtually from the time he decided to go to Japan” and we were always keen to keep him in the Mako ranks.
“We were also keen to respect the fact he had made the decision on what he wanted to do, so when he came back about 10 days ago and said ‘I have changed my mind’ we didn’t have to think too hard about it.
“We just said we want you back, so it’s very exciting for us, potentially with three loose forwards in that All Black mix,”
Taufua was the Mako player of the year in 2017, Lewis suggesting “he is a crucial part to our jigsaw and we saw that the other day [Wednesday] when he played for the [Tasman] Buccaneers against Counties … his leadership, enthusiasm and the way he inspired the young guys around him, just showed the mark of the man,”
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