New Zealand Rugby reveals where player retention is most challenging - and the $1.3m packages for top All Blacks

Sunday, 6 April 2025

• NZ Rugby has enjoyed some big retention wins but challenges remain.

• National union pays retainers to about 50 players in NZ on a sliding scale.

• Uncapped stars such as Kirifi, Tavatavanawai are most difficult to keep.

New Zealand Rugby is celebrating the retention of uncapped Hurricanes flanker Du’Plessis Kirifi “almost as much” as No 10 Damian McKenzie in recognition that Kirifi fits the profile of player who is most difficult to keep.

Kirifi, 28, recently signed a deal through until the 2027 Rugby World Cup and Chris Lendrum, NZ Rugby’s contracting supremo, said it was a crucial retention victory in the neverending fight to keep New Zealand players on these shores.

“He's a guy who's toiled away consistently at NPC and Super Rugby Pacific level, but the maturity of his game and his leadership has grown, and everybody's seeing that now,” Lendrum told the Sunday Star-Times.

“Everybody who watches Super Rugby Pacific sees that and of course so do overseas clubs as well.

“Players like Du’Plessis have decisions to make - material decisions about do I stay or do I go?

“Because he’s had a good career in New Zealand already, but to see him recommit in a competitive market…I'm almost equally as pleased about that.

“Those are the players that might not grab as many headlines as Damian, but they are the heart and soul of our game.”

Lendrum says the overseas market is particularly hot at present for No 10s and locks, but all players who choose to stay in New Zealand are often staying for between 30% and 100% less of what is on offer abroad.

NZ Rugby pays retainers of varying amounts to between 45-55 players in New Zealand and has various “holistic” levers at its disposal to persuade players to stay - the quality of coaching, lifestyle and brand of rugby - but in terms money the choices are most stark for players such as Kirifi and Timoci Tavatavanawai, the Highlanders co-captain.

“That’s the level of player we probably have the most challenge around,” Lendrum said.

“Because that is where the gap is.

“There is national interest in having great quality leadership and high-quality players at Super Rugby clubs who aren't All Blacks.

“The likes of a Timoci fall into that category and so how do we approach those players?

“We try to put the best foot forward we can between the club and New Zealand financially.

“And then it's also important for those players to have an understanding of where they sit in the national picture. And that means coaches having discussions with clarity to those players about how close they are, what they might need to work on.

'[But] that’s the hardest part of the retention picture for us actually. Obviously it’s competitive at the McKenzie level but the factors at play are almost narrower, and the gap is not so eye-popping financially.“

McKenzie, who has signed a four-year-deal with a sabbatical clause included for 2028, is now likely to be among the best-paid players in New Zealand.

Lendrum said NZ Rugby’s wage structure offered elite talent up to a $1 million a year before Super Rugby and provincial pay and test assembly fees - which can add more than $300,000 - were included.

“I think it's important to remember that it takes players time to get to that level,” Lendrum said.

“A touchstone for us has always been consistency and performance over time.

“You don't rocket to those levels after one season. We simply can't afford or sustain a model like that.

“But the absolute top-line players in terms of base salary is in that $800,000 to $1 million range, and there's a range of other benefits that come on top of that.

“[But] if somebody tried to say these guys are they're pulling $2 million a year when you throw all of that in, I don't think that's accurate.

“There's very few players with the commercial cut-through in a small market in New Zealand to make a lot of money out of endorsements.”

Money aside, another pull factor that has emerged during recent contract negotiations is the All Blacks’ upcoming calendar - particularly the tour of South Africa next year.

“A mystique has regrown around playing South Africa and South African teams, ironically in the absence of playing those teams in Super Rugby,” Lendrum said.

“I think our players are absolutely itching to get into that, to prove themselves in a hostile environment against the world champions.”