Henry on McAlister's Sale adventure
Wed, 15 Oct 2008 13:03
Despite his fantastic performances so far in the European season Luke McAlister has yet to convince All Black coach Graham Henry that he may benefit from his time abroad, or that he would be a certainty for the in the Kiwi team were he to return to the fold.
McAlister of course spent much of his youth living in Manchester and, after making his name in New Zealand rugby, has returned to the UK with the Sale Sharks. The centre/flyhalf still has one year remaining on his contract at Edgeley Park but is then expected to return to New Zealand, possible with a place in the 2011 World Cup squad already in mind.
While Henry admits playing in the UK could well prove to be a great life experience for McAlister, he is clearly unconvinced that the 25-year-old game will benefit from the move.
"I think it will be good for him as an individual and when he returns to these islands he'll be a well-rounded person, but I don't know if he's going to be a better rugby player," said Henry.
"Maybe those experiences of playing in those countries will help but whether it's going to help his rugby development, I'm not sure.
"There's big talk he's going to return to New Zealand, that he's going to return reasonably soon," added Henry.
"There's no guarantee he's going to return to the All Blacks - he has to be good enough to do that."
