Stay or go: Weber weighs move overseas
Brad Weber has a major decision to make in the coming weeks.
Off contact with New Zealand Rugby at the end of this year, Weber’s preference is to stay but at his stage in career he admits offshore alternatives will be seriously considered.
The main deciding factor, as with any professional rugby athlete, will be the salary he is offered. The price must be right for the Chiefs and All Blacks to retain his services.
“There’s a lot to think about for me,” Weber told the Weekend Herald yesterday as he prepared for the Chiefs’ final Super Rugby Transtasman match against the Waratahs in Sydney tonight.
“I’m at a real crossroads in my career. Ideally, I’d love to stay in New Zealand. I love it here; I love the Chiefs. I would love to put myself in the mix for another World Cup, but I’ve also got to think about life after rugby and what that looks like.
“I’ve just turned 30. I still feel great; I feel I’ve got plenty of years left in me but I know one day it’s all going to end. I’m trying to work with my agent and get the numbers right.
“Hopefully New Zealand Rugby see the value as well and we can come to an agreement to stick around but if a really good offer overseas comes along, I’ll have to seriously consider it.”
Weber’s issue appears somewhat similar to that of Paris-bound All Blacks second fiveeighth Ngani Laumape, who played his final match for the Hurricanes against the Reds in Wellington last night.
Laumape, not a first-choice All Blacks midfielder, was therefore offered a contract he felt significantly underwhelmed his market value, given he stands to earn $400,000 more per season in France over the next three years.
In the end, the Hurricanes were hamstrung by NZ Rugby’s offer to Laumape.
In an All Blacks context Weber is, likewise, stuck behind Aaron Smith’s influential presence.
While halfback is not a position that boasts extensive depth, injured Highlanders No 9 Folau Fakatava and Weber’s deputy at the Chiefs, Xavier Roe, are highly-touted emerging prospects.
TJ Perenara’s flirtation with the Sydney Roosters in the NRL is also believed to have forced NZ Rugby to bump his salary on return from Japan, which may leave Weber in a difficult position when it comes to gaining a contract extension that reflects his true value.
Weber has played seven tests for the
All Blacks since 2015 — all off the bench
— but with Perenara ineligible for the
July tests he is expected to be secondchoice to Smith, with Mitchell Drummond the likely third option. Weber, though, is taking nothing for granted.
“If I’m lucky enough to be selected
I’d be dead keen to hopefully contribute a little bit more this season.
“I don’t like to get too far ahead of myself; it’s got me in trouble in the past.”
For the Chiefs, there’s no doubting Weber’s standing.
This year he assumed sole captaincy after Sam Cane’s season-ending chest injury and helped lead the club from their record-equalling 11-game losing run to the Aotearoa final under interim head coach Clayton Mcmillan. NZ Herald