Graham Henry, the All Blacks coach, has criticised young players for leaving New Zealand in search of lucrative contracts.
He has a point, only in that he has lost some of his best players to Europe. It is a symptom of a greater problem, however.
Henry is deprived of the talent of Nick Evans and Jimmy Gopperth, who moved to England because they operated in the shadow of Dan Carter, the All Black fly-half.
Carter himself signed for Perpignan in 2008 for a reported €700,000 (Dh3.76 million) and it is rumoured he will return to France after the World Cup, which starts in September.
Gopperth and Evans are vying to be the top points scorer in the English Premiership, and Henry must also make do without the likes of Carl Hayman, the prop at Toulon who would walk into virtually any international side.
The reason for Henry's ire is that foreign-based players cannot play for the All Blacks, a rule that England manager Martin Johnson will stick to after the World Cup.
The onset of globalisation was supposed to make the world a smaller place, but having this archaic law not only widens the gulf, but surely must be challenged by employment law.
South Africa have such a rule, but it did not stop Butch James, who plays in England for Bath, running out for the Springboks.
The answer is simple. The sooner these self-imposed rules are relaxed the better, otherwise coaches will continue to make life difficult for themselves and moan about lack of players.