All Black tighthead prop Carl Hayman, set to make his debut for Newcastle in England this weekend, sees no let up in the player drain out of New Zealand and says he wouldn't be surprised to see Dan Carter joining him in the northern hemisphere before too long.
Hayman arrived at Newcastle this week and has already participated in his first training session with his new club. He is being lined up to see game time off the bench in this weekend's EDF Energy Cup away clash to London Wasps, when Jonny Wilkinson will also make his first appearance since the World Cup after shaking off an ankle injury.
The British media are speculating that Hayman is earning £1 million over the two and a-half seasons he is contracted with Newcastle, making him one of the highest paid players in professional rugby.
And after speaking to reporters for the first time since his arrival in Newcastle, Hayman made itg more than clear that he wouldn't be surprised at all to see Carter collecting similar riches playing somewhere in the lucrative European market before too long.
The star All Black first five raised the prospect in interviews with British media recently while in London promoting his Jockey underwear brand. He said when his contract with the NZRU ends next year he would think very seriously about heading north for a season or two.
Hayman made it clear that Carter wasn't just teasing British rugby writers keen to land world rugby's most gifted No 10.
"I think there is every chance," Hayman told The Times about the prospect of Carter joining him in the north. "If you look at the numbers over here now it could have an effect on New Zealand, but at the same time there are a lot of young players coming through."
He uttered a similar line to The Telegraph, telling them he expects leading All Blacks to soon join himself, Aaron Mauger (Leicester), Chris Jack (Saracens), Luke McAlister (Sale) and Byron Kelleher (Toulouse). "There's every chance, it's the way the game's going. It can't really be healthy for the All Blacks, but that's how professional rugby is at the moment."
Hayman told The Telegraph that Otago team-mates, and Newcastle players past and present, Craig Newby and Joe McDonnell had persuaded him to make the move to the north of England.
"I don't honestly know how I would get on in London. No offence to the people who live in London but it is just the way I am," Hayman said. "I like the outdoors. I like to get out there. Deer stalking is one of my favourite pastimes. I'm not sure I will be able to do a lot out here. I just want to get out there and have a look around."
But he also made it more than clear that the size of the contract put before him had also been a persuasive factor.
"I was surprised at the size of my offer, but I think we're seeing more of an appreciation of front-row play," Hayman told The Times. "There's definitely a premium on good front-rowers at the moment, not just in England, but in France and all around the world."
There's no doubt that the big fella (1.93m and 120kg of prime New Zealand beef) will be missed by the All Blacks who must now groom a tighthead prop to anchor their front-row attack.
But given that Hayman is still only 28 and that the timing of his contract would allow it, he could yet return to New Zealand for one final World Cup campaign in 2011.
In the meantime New Zealand's loss is most definitely Newcastle's gain, with the mid-table Premiership club hoping that Hayman can add the sort of impact to their pack to help set free a backline that contains Wilkinson and fellow England stars Mathew Tait, Toby Flood and Jamie Noon.
As for that match, the World Cup quarter-final loss in Cardiff, it's fair to say Hayman has quickly put it in perspective. Asked by one scribe if it took him long to recover from the devastating defeat, Hayman shot back: "Not that long, to be honest," he said. "Life goes on."
That it does.
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