Rising rugby star Aaron Cruden in demand

Hurricanes chief executive Greg Peters is taking a hands-off approach but Manawatu chief executive John Knowles is determined not to let star playmaker Aaron Cruden slip out of the region without a fight.

Peters said the retention of the world under-20 player-of-the-year was a provincial issue, not one for the franchise.

The first five-eighth, who recovered from cancer to captain New Zealand under-20 to World Cup glory in Japan this month, comes off contract with Manawatu at the end of this year.

Auckland are believed to be chasing his services, while Cruden's agent, Bruce Sharrock, also floated interest from Australian Super 14 franchises.

Knowles dismissed the Australian link as pure speculation but admitted retaining Cruden was a major issue for Manawatu and the Hurricanes.

This year's Air New Zealand Cup looks set to be an intriguing battle between Cruden, Taranaki's Willie Ripia and Wellington duo Daniel Kirkpatrick and Michael Hobbs, as Hurricanes coach Colin Cooper assesses his options in the troublesome No10 jersey.

Knowles said he would sit down with Cruden very soon and was bullish about their chances of retaining their loyal, home-grown product.

"He's keen to stay around the Manawatu," Knowles said.

The problem for Manawatu is the uncertainty surrounding the Turbos' continuing participation in first division rugby.

"If we or any union finishes up in the second tier, there's going to be an awful lot of players that come off contract and we could see players move to all sorts of places in the country," Knowles said.

Cruden has gone to ground since his return to Palmerston North but Knowles believed it was his goal to play for the Hurricanes.

"I think for any fellow like that it certainly would be a dream and he'd be really keen to stay in the Hurricanes region, there's no question of that.

"It will depend a little bit on whether the Hurricanes see him in the mix for this coming year and if they don't then he goes in the draft and he could finish up somewhere else.

"But obviously, with a shortage of first-fives, my hunch would be that the Hurricanes will be very interested in him."

Knowles said that Cruden's highly respected mentor, Manawatu and New Zealand under-20 coach Dave Rennie, would be a huge drawcard.

"He runs on respect and trust and loyalty and I think that will influence Aaron quite a bit in his decision making."

Knowles said Cruden's current Manawatu deal was in the process of being upgraded to reflect his rising stocks after the World Cup final, in which he scored two tries in a three-minute spell.

"We want to make sure that he is well recognised and feels that we are supporting him in that way," Knowles said.

The advice of Cruden's father, Stu, a former Manawatu captain, also loomed as crucial in the coming weeks.

"No doubt his family will have some influence over his decision but he's very happy here, he gets on well here and I think he'll be trying to stay around his mates a bit."

Knowles said he would be picking the brain of Peters, also the Wellington boss, regarding offering Cruden an attractive package.

"They may not be able to help us financially but they can certainly give us advice on the style of contracting.

"We'll certainly work with him to get the best advice possible for us because everybody recognises that a person like Aaron Cruden needs to stay in the Hurricanes region."

- © Fairfax NZ News