IRELAND TOUR TO NEW ZEALAND:Too many tour games means less relevance and less entertainment, writes Gerry Thornleyin Wellington

INTERNATIONAL RUGBY is losing some of its lustre. Non-competitive Test matches, be they part of summer tours by Europe's finest or return trips by the Southern Hemisphere heavyweights in November, may not be as high on the scale of dreariness as international soccer friendlies, but rugby is suffering from overkill.

Of course, for unions and federations across the globe to maintain professionalism they are a financial necessity - witness the negotiations between the IRFU and their South African counterparts in trying to organise a Test in Dubai next November.

Without such Tests, the New Zealand Rugby Union might just as well kiss goodbye to Dan Carter and all their frontline players, who understandably are keen to maximise their relatively short careers with lucrative contracts in England or France. The pull between the hemispheres is becoming a perennial strain.

But the recent inability of France and England, especially, to retain any sense of competitiveness at this time of year has rendered some of the end-of-season tours almost a joke. Coming hard on the heels of a World Cup year, or indeed in advance of that tournament, "friendlies" have even less appeal.

For coaches, of course, the games are important in building teams, and they will usually talk them up accordingly, but rugby increasingly runs the risk that players and supporters will start to turn their backs on them.

The decline in the value and currency of Test friendlies for players and supporters becomes all the more apparent when the internationals are set against recent high-octane climaxes to provincial and club campaigns, be they sell-outs in Cardiff, Twickenham or Christchurch. Those games mattered.

In another way, too, rugby is imitating football. Ask any of those who played in the above-mentioned finals which they would prefer: to win one of the medals on offer or register a friendly Test win - even if that entails making history; there can be only one answer.

For the supporters of Munster, Wasps and the Crusaders - and indeed those of Toulouse, Leicester and the Waratahs - the answer would undoubtedly be the same. A decade ago, that would have been unimaginable.

Michael Bradley, the Ireland coach in New Zealand this week, tacitly concedes there are only a few drops left in the well.

"I think the balance is right for us - two games," he said. "It's not really a tour for us per se.

"I suppose two one-off matches is probably the best way of describing it. It's about as much as the players would be able to commit to, it being a World Cup year as well. The balance is also right in that you have Munster coming off a European Cup win, Leinster off the Magners, Eoin (Reddan) off the Premiership - I think we'll just about get 10 days out of them."

Picking a core group who have come off a big win rather than the setback of a defeat is preferable, but it's still a tough task in itself.

"Obviously we had to let them come down off the highs - particularly the Munster lads - of the last week and a half. They had to recover from the physical challenge of playing Toulouse and now they have refocused again and you can see the leaders among them having little discussions with the rest of the players, and I'm really looking forward now to Saturday and seeing these guys perform.

"I think there's a feeling that maybe they left something behind in the last six to eight months at international level and this is a huge opportunity to be part of the first side to beat New Zealand. Because of the type of athlete you have here and the mental strength of them, it's something that appeals to them, and they get excited about it, and it should be a good day for us on Saturday."

Beating the All Blacks for the first time ever, he admits, is probably more for historians than for players who "live in the now". But as a player in an Ireland side that threatened to rewrite history in Dunedin in 1992, Bradley appreciates he can tap into an altogether more professional ethos as a coach 16 years later.

"I think in 92 we would go out in the hope that we might do well; catch the All Blacks on a bad day. I think if we have a good day these guys have the mentality to put the game away and that's a huge, huge progression."

Other than ticking a box and creating a footnote in history, about the most meaningful aspect of these results, and next November's, is their relevance to the World Cup draw in December.

The IRB's decision to shift the goalposts by decreeing that the draw will be based on world rankings rather than results in last year's finals is possibly fairer. Rather than condemn them to a third-tier seeding, it also just happens to give Ireland, Wales and Italy a lifeline towards a second-tier seeding.

For that to happen, Ireland must at least maintain their tenuous hold on their ranking of eighth. Slip a place lower and they are assured of being drawn with two heavyweights in New Zealand in 2011. In that sense, Bradley and, come November, Declan Kidney, have been dealt a tough hand to play with.

The criteria for deciding ranking points is almost too complex to understand fully, much less explain. Suffice it to say a nation's "points" can best be boosted by beating teams ranked above them, all the more so away from home. A win on Saturday therefore, or in Melbourne on Saturday week, would go a long way toward cementing that top-eight ranking.

On Ireland's tails, though, are Fiji, Scotland and Italy. The Fijians could well boost their "coefficient" by conquering all in the upcoming Pacific Rim tournament. The Scots have a two-Test series in Argentina that offers them a potentially bountiful haul; the Pumas are ranked third and, what's more, will be missing several of their frontline players based in France given the Top 14 play-offs carry on until June 28th.

All of which can help add some tangible relevance to this year's friendlies.

Again though, quite why the World Cup draw has to be made fully three years in advance is a bit of a mystery. Were the draw held back for another 12 months, it would be some way of ensuring Test friendlies retain a certain importance in 2009 as well.

But we're scratching a little here, aren't we?

CARTER TO GET FRENCH LEAVE ...

NEW ZEALAND outhalf Daniel Carter looks set to get his six-month European sabbatical and a new New Zealand Rugby Union contract.

Carter has confirmed he is looking to play for a French club on a six-month contract that would see him depart after the All Blacks' tour of Europe at the end of this year and return home in time for the June Tests in 2009.

The 26-year-old, who has played 46 Tests for the All Blacks since 2003, is keen to re-sign with the NZRU until the end of 2011 and reports representing his country remained his overriding priority.

"For that reason I have decided to re-sign with the New Zealand Rugby Union, ideally to 2011," he told The Press newspaper.

"If selected I certainly want to be a part of a successful All Blacks World Cup campaign," he added.

Carter is in negotiations with two French clubs, one of which is Toulon, who are coached by his former All Blacks captain Tana Umaga and have offered him a reported 1.4 million New Zealand dollars (€700,000).

"I have made no final decision about the sabbatical and where I will be, but it should be resolved in the next fortnight or so," he added.