Cantabs seeking new fields

PETER MEECHAM/The Press

TAKING OFF: Crusaders midfielder Tim Bateman will leave for Japan at the end of the competition.

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Crusaders midfielder Tim Bateman has signed with a Japanese club and Canterbury boss Rob Penney has applied for the Hurricanes head coach's job that will become vacant when Colin Cooper departs after the Super 14.

Penney, who has won two Air New Zealand Cup titles with Canterbury in the last two seasons, would not comment to The Press yesterday but it is understood he joins a raft of applicants that includes Crusaders forwards coach Mark Hammett, Wellington's Jamie Joseph and Hawke's Bay's Peter Russell.

Recent reports have linked Hammett to the job but Penney, who has been Canterbury head coach since 2006, flew under the radar until sources confirmed his name had been added to the hat.

Penney also applied for the Crusaders post when Robbie Deans left in 2008 but missed out to Todd Blackadder, Hammett and Daryl Gibson.

Cooper, the Hurricanes' head coach since taking over from Graham Mourie in 2003, will guide Taranaki when he ends his tenure with the Wellington franchise.

A Hurricanes spokesman yesterday said there was no definite date as to when Cooper's successor would be announced.

Meanwhile, Bateman is understood to have inked a two-year contract with an undisclosed club and could leave New Zealand as soon as his Super 14 duties with the Crusaders are complete.

The 22-year-old is in camp with the Crusaders in Nelson as they prepare for tomorrow night's "friendly" against the Blues in Motueka and could not be contacted.

But it is believed negotiations began some time ago and the decision is not a knee-jerk reaction to Aaron Mauger's desire to return to Canterbury and represent the All Blacks in next year's World Cup.

Bateman, who made his debut for Canterbury in 2006 and the Crusaders in 2007, has a young family and could potentially return to New Zealand to restart his career here in his mid-20s.

Although he can also play at centre, Bateman, who bulked up over the off-season and is listed at 91kg, is best suited to second five-eighths and earlier in his career some critics believed his rise into the All Blacks ranks would only be a matter of time.

However, Super 14 rookie and team-mate Ryan Crotty was selected in the Junior All Blacks squad ahead of Bateman last year.

Former All Blacks second-five Mauger, who played in the 2003 and 2007 World Cups, has a New Zealand Rugby Union contract in front of him and will leave English club Leicester at the end of the northern hemisphere season.

Mauger's return means there will be no shortage of candidates to fill the All Blacks No12 jersey at next year's World Cup.

Ma'a Nonu is still ranked as No1 for the position, with Luke McAlister used as back-up last year. Stephen Donald is another who could be considered, along with Crotty and possibly Stephen Brett.

- © Fairfax NZ News