All Blacks fly-half Harry Plummer has revealed the reason for his surprise departure after he signed a deal with Clermont Auvergne in France.
It has been a big year for the playmaker, who took the reins at 10 for the Blues and guided them to the Super Rugby Pacific title.
Plummer was then selected in the New Zealand squad and made his debut in the latter stages of the Rugby Championship, playing for the final three minutes of their 31-28 victory over the Wallabies.
Although the fly-half was not selected on the year-end tour, he was called up ahead of the Ireland game after Billy Proctor flew home for the birth of his first child.
The 26-year-old was therefore not far from the 23 and injuries to either Beauden Barrett or Damian McKenzie could have opened the door for him next year, but he decided to agree a deal with Clermont ahead of the 2025/26 campaign and put his Test hopes on hold.
All Blacks fly-half options
“I’m pretty open about it,” he told the New Zealand Herald.
“I feel like New Zealand rugby is in a position where they showed their hand a little bit with their first-five stock.
“You’ve got Beauden, with a wealth of experience, and we saw what he did on the world stage on the northern tour. DMac has been playing some unbelievable footy and during the Rugby Championship showed exactly what he can do and the impact he brings to a game.
“Being in that environment I felt I probably wasn’t going to get a shot, a proper crack at how I envisioned it.”
Plummer realises he is currently on the periphery and knows that he would drop further down the pecking order should Richie Mo’unga return.
New Zealand Rugby and Scott Robertson have been open in their desire to bring him back, which would harm the Blues star’s chances of adding to his single cap.
It means that Plummer will therefore look to finish on a high at the Auckland outfit as they seek to defend their Super Rugby title before he then heads to Europe.
“There’s talk of Richie Mo’unga coming back. That didn’t seal my fate but it weighed on me little bit,” he said.
“Yeah, I’m young, but I’ve got this amazing opportunity in front of me to finish on a high with the Blues next season and try do something special by going back-to-back, and then get an opportunity to have a massive lifestyle change, move to a really cool part of France, and play in a great competition.
“That will grow me as a person and a player a lot more too, getting to play Northern Hemisphere rugby and seeing what it’s like going deep into their season. That was ultimately my decision and how it landed.”
‘No bad blood’
He added: “I’ve got no bad blood with anyone, New Zealand Rugby or the Blues, that’s the way it goes. You can’t play footy in New Zealand forever.
“It’s really important for people to know that if I could stay at the Blues forever I probably would. This team and region has given me my crack to be in a position like this and to get the successes of 2024.
“I love this team, what it stands for and the community aspect. That was the hardest part, saying goodbye to that for now.”
Plummer’s decision may well end his Test hopes given that he will be 29 when his contract at Clermont finishes, but the fly-half is not ruling out moving back to New Zealand, and specifically the Blues.
“Once this Blues season is wrapped up and I go to Clermont I’ll be 100% into that environment and not thinking about anything else. Rugby is unpredictable but I’ll never close doors on any teams, especially the Blues,” he said.
“There would be some drive to come back further down the road if everything aligned but we’ll see how the next six months goes first.”
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/departing-all-black-reveals-key-scott-robertson-call-weighed-on-me-and-contributed-to-shock-exit
