D'Arcy Waldegrave: Sportstalk host on Mark Tele'a's decision to move to Japan

New Zealand Rugby remain happy with their player retention rates, despite All Blacks wing Mark Tele'a's decision to head to Japan after this season.

The 28-year-old started four of five tests on the 2024 end-of-year tour.

He's understood to have penned a three-season deal with Toyota Verblitz under former All Blacks coaches Sir Steve Hansen and Ian Foster.

Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explains further.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Here the skip the fine, take the dog away. Oh lord,
he's straight into her.

Speaker 2 (00:04):
Welcome home.

Speaker 1 (00:07):
Hello, Darcy Hither Darcy water Grave, sports talk host. It's
just if it's quite the Hello.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
I'm just wagging my tail.

Speaker 1 (00:13):
How you doing?

Speaker 2 (00:14):
I'm doing?

Speaker 1 (00:15):
Really, you're coming with a lot of energy. Have you
had some like significant life changes or something that I've
been away?

Speaker 2 (00:20):
No, I've always got this amount of energy, haven't I.

Speaker 1 (00:22):
Yes, you have thought it might just I thought they
might be I thought I might have missed out on
something in the last three months.

Speaker 2 (00:27):
No, No, it's all the same. I'm okay, predictable in
my unpredictability. How about that.

Speaker 1 (00:33):
It's good to see.

Speaker 2 (00:33):
I'm still feeling great to have you back again.

Speaker 1 (00:36):
I appreciate it's doing goody good? Yeah.

Speaker 2 (00:38):
Nice. How's Junior?

Speaker 1 (00:41):
She's lovely, She does all the good things, sleeps, eats, popes, breathe, breathe,
hands still breathing.

Speaker 2 (00:47):
Yeah it's good.

Speaker 1 (00:48):
Yeah, it's constantly cute. So that's nice. Now we're here
to talk about sports, So tell me about Mark t Leo. Okay,
so when is he actually off to Japan?

Speaker 2 (00:56):
Well, these are scarce at the moment, saying he's a
social media post up, which is right, I just showed
you it.

Speaker 1 (01:02):
Yeah, it's cool, very cool.

Speaker 2 (01:03):
Little little cartoons you know, anime. Yeah it is anim
isn't it. It's very modern of you, you know. Him
and his Blues jumper holding up the Super Rugby Pacific Trophy.
Him and his North Harbor top m in an all
Blacks top as well. It's been an amazing ride at
so many fantastic memories, he writes, amazing people. But after
much thought, I've decided from next year I will play

(01:23):
my rugby in Japan. Thanks to fellow players, coaches, administrators
and fans for making the past years so special. It
has been grateful and blessed for the journey. But I'm
on to the next chapter now. Apparently it's toy It
of a Blitz, which is where Steve Hansen is and
Ian Foster. You can't understand maybe why he went there
and with it a three year deal supposed and it

(01:44):
will be worth a ton. He's twenty eight, which is
the traditional age that all Black wingers fall off the cliff.
They tend to not get any better. But he's a
really late developer, so he may well be missed. But
then you look across the landscape and go, well, there
a wingers. Ever shake a tree, one will fall out.
Not quite sure what size or speed or whatever he'll be,
but it will be there. So the debate here, and

(02:08):
it's changes for every player. Do you keep him this
year or do you just go you're not loyal to
us anymore? Off you go, We're going to get someone
else in the fold.

Speaker 1 (02:17):
Oh, so use this as as a development year for
somebody else.

Speaker 2 (02:20):
Well, I wouldn't say development year because you've got a
World Cup coming out, but you're not an all black. Yeah,
to develop right, Yeah, you've got to be a sharp play.
But it gives space for someone to come into that
place and go, look, tell he's a great players, wonderful
guy to play, to watch play, He's got so much
talent about him. But is he good enough to insist

(02:43):
having here even though we're losing his intellect and ability?

Speaker 1 (02:46):
Well, I mean it feels to me like one thing
that Razor would have to consider is his own his
own record, right, which has not been convincing to everybody else.
So he will want to get a fair few wins
under his belt this season, and if that means that
he has to have the be skis on the squad,
including Mark Lear. He should do that, shouldn't it?

Speaker 2 (03:02):
Well, I don't know if you will or not. He's
not exactly been picking Blues players left, right and center, though,
has he. There's been a number of Blues players that
have gone. You know, when there's a bit of a
whole somewhere, we need someone. Get Shaye Hockey. Oh, we
get someone. I know a guy from Canterbury and he
knows these players, so you get that. But it seems
to be leaning a wee bit red and black. I
don't know if this has got anything to do with

(03:23):
Mark Tele's decision. I doubt it does. I tried to
get him on but he said no, not directly to me,
THROUGHUS media manager understanding its particularly like talking to me.
It's a shame because he's a good buggy. It's really
good to talk to. I really enjoy it. And then
I rang up to it. Let's you needn't want a
word note No, it was a text, you know, call
me toward the end of the week. And what I
think it is is that they're quite stripped around releasing

(03:46):
information like this. Notice that when you're dealing with Japanese
rugby clubs unless it's all official. No want to say
anything about anything until it's all been t crossed and
I dotted underline xerox and cent to four hundred people. Interesting,
then they'll talk.

Speaker 1 (03:59):
About so dars, thank you very much Forrgeant Leam maybe to.

Speaker 2 (04:03):
Talk about it tonight on the show anyways, because he
knows more about the ins and outs of the possible
replacements for that side as well. Lovely to have you back, mummy.

Speaker 1 (04:10):
Thanks Dark. It's a bit weird you calling me mummy
the first time today, is it? Darcy water Grave, sports
talk host. For more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive, listen
live to news talks. It'd be from four pm weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio