Cash carrot no lure for Masaga
Thu, 01 May 2008 13:05
Chiefs flyer Lelia Masaga has not had any major offers from the cash-flush European clubs, but the try-scoring ace says he will happily stay home to pursue his domestic dreams first.
Masaga, whose six tries for the Chiefs make him the Super 14's equal top try-scorer, wants to concentrate on continuing to develop his game in familiar surroundings of New Zealand.
The 21-year-old Wellington-born Counties-Manukau wing this week extended his New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) contract until the end of 2011.
He said there had not really been any foreign offers that he had had to consider.
"I guess it's a good thing, because I don't want my head all filled up with numbers and contracts and stuff," he told NZPA.
"I'm pretty happy at the moment staying in New Zealand and improving my game over the next three years."
Masaga heads into the Chiefs' match against Western Force in Perth on Saturday sitting equal with Highlander Fetu'u Vainikolo as the competition's leading try-scorers.
He caught up with Vainikolo last weekend thanks to a brace of tries in the win over the Reds in Hamilton despite having a bruised knee.
His performances have led to increasing speculation about his All Blacks prospects, given the hand injury to Joe Rokocoko and the departure of Doug Howlett and Rico Gear overseas.
"The All Blacks will always be there in my mind," Masaga told NZPA.
"But at the moment I just want to focus on the Chiefs."
Chiefs coach Ian Foster said Masaga, now in his third Super 14 season, had made big strides since arriving at the Chiefs as a raw recruit.
"He started off a young kid, basically straight out of school, and he hadn't had a lot of rugby experience," Foster said.
"Counties put him in there early on and he was fast, he was strong and he liked to beat people with his step."
Foster said one aspect Masaga had had to work on was his defence, such as his positional play, dealing with opposition kicks directed his way and making the right decisions.
The learning process had been tough, but his progress was significant.
"He's really grown in that area, certainly in dealing with the ball on the ground and in the air," Foster said.
"I guess it's probably in attack that he's catching everyone's eye. He's been working on his weak areas and he's making sure he's better in the areas he's already good at."
Foster was unwilling to rate Masaga's chances of pulling on the All Blacks jersey this year although he believed the player would have to be a contender.
He said all Masaga could do was keep putting in performances on the park.
"Then it's up to the three wise men," he said.
"There's obviously a spot at the top level. He's scoring tries. He's beating people. He's working hard. I'd say they'd have to be looking closely at him."
