Charles Piutau
Charles Piutau has been told by the New Zealand Rugby Union that he cannot play for the Blues next year.
The 23-year-old, has accepted a deal with Pro12 club Ulster midway through the 2016 year, and he wanted to play for the Blues before he left.
If Piutau was allowed to continue playing in Auckland next year he would be available for more than 10 of the Blues Super Rugby games in the 2016 season before his obligations at Ulster began.
However NZRU has denied the opportunity for the 23-year-old to continue playing for the Blues next year, applying its regulation that Super Rugby players must available for All Blacks Test duty.
14 Test-capped Piutau does still remain in contention for this year’s World Cup, but if not selected, he may have to consider other overseas options before he departs for Ulster.
According to reports, Blues chief executive Michael Redman said Piutau would have been an important element in next year’s squad.
“Our argument was that next year has potential for all New Zealand teams to be disrupted by players coming in and out of the Sevens environment,” he said.
“Our rationale was that Charles might have been with us for 11 weeks, which would have been better than zero.
“We accept NZRU’s reasons for declining that. In many ways it comes down to the fact he wouldn’t be available for the full season.”
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