Super Rugby side NSW Waratahs player Matt Carraro said that the spate of players "taking up rich offers from Japanese clubs may not be ideal but it is the best scenario for Australian rugby in the face of a mass exodus," according to Jamie Pandaram of the Sydney DAILY TELEGRAPH. Carraro said that stints in Japan "will allow the players the possibility of returning because the Top League is not as physically demanding and is played outside of Super Rugby and The Rugby Championship schedules." With a host of Wallabies and Super Rugby players heading overseas after the World Cup, the Australian Rugby Union is now negotiating "flexible contracts" with some of its top players in a bid to see them return home after their foreign stints. Carraro said that Japan "would be the lesser evil." He said, "It’s the one that fits in best with our season, so it is the best option. ... Obviously the ARU doesn’t want to lose everyone, and we’ve got the NRC that they’re trying to build as well. It would be a bit of a shame to lose a few players but that would be the most feasible option." But concerns "have arisen over the workloads of players who take up this option, given they could be playing for 12 months a year." Carraro: "If you’re not smart with that, that’s when you start getting injuries, and you start losing your stars. Clubs have got to be smart with that" (DAILY TELEGRAPH, 4/6).
