Timana prepares to be 'bored'
March 21, 2007
PARRAMATTA and Australia back Timana Tahu last night signed a four-year deal worth almost $2 million with the Australian Rugby Union just weeks after slamming the code as "boring".
Tahu walked away from a further one-season option at Parramatta to become the latest NRL defector, aligning himself from 2008 with New South Wales and the Wallabies.
Negotiations with the ARU lasted only four weeks, suggesting Tahu's decision and Olympic-class backflip - he said last month that he would never play rugby because he would want to touch the ball more than once a game - was motivated by money.
Sources at the Eels said last night that annual earnings of around $300,000 at Parramatta were being cranked up to around $500,000 a year with the the Australian and NSW rugby unions.
But Tahu, 26, whose career with Newcastle and Parramatta has included five Tests and 11 State of Origin appearances for New South Wales, claimed last night that his earlier sledge was a deliberate smokescreen to cover his true intentions.
"I've been thinking about playing rugby union for the past four years," Tahu, who has been earmarked as an outside centre by the Waratahs and the ARU, said.
"A few weeks ago, I was quoted as saying that I wouldn't switch ... this was a direct quote to stamp out any rumours regarding my interest in rugby.
"I wanted to make the decision on my own, along with family, and not influenced by outside forces.
"This is why I have negotiated to join the ARU without the fanfare."
Eels chief executive Denis Fitzgerald said: "I don't think you can be surprised, now, about good outside backs changing to rugby.
"They don't seem to see much action out there at the moment.
"I think the Super 14 competition so far this season has been absolutely boring and a shambles in terms of any open play.
"The number of stopages is absolutely at an all-time high, I would think.
"But the dollars are obviously very big for selected players."
NRL chief executive David Gallop reacted to the Tahu news by saying: "From time to time, guys are going to take that option.
"But we still believe rugby league is the ultimate testing ground for footballers, and we all get on with life."
ARU negotiator Pat Wilson described the signing as a "major coup" for the game, eight days after retaining Lote Tuqiri on a $5 million five-year deal.
Wallabies coach John Connolly also welcomed the recruitment of "a proven tryscorer who has played at the highest level in rugby league".
