Hurricanes captain Brad Shields has been given the all-clear to begin his international rugby career with England early - but New Zealand Rugby isn't particularly happy about it.
NZR head of professional rugby Chris Lendrum announced Thursday that Shields was available for the England team to tour South Africa next month - that team was due to be announced on Thursday night.
But he insisted NZR would have been well within its rights to decline the request and was disappointed to be put in this situation.
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"Our contract agreement requires Brad to be available for only New Zealand teams until the end of his term, which expires at the end of this year's Super Rugby season," said Lendrum.
"Having said that, Brad has been an exceptional leader inside the Hurricanes environment and a loyal servant to New Zealand Rugby.
"We are extremely disappointed that the RFU chose to take this unusual step in seeking this release, given that Brad has not yet played rugby in England.
"We are releasing Brad with our best wishes and we hope to see him achieve his goal of playing international rugby in June."
Shields said: "I'm really appreciative that New Zealand Rugby has considered my request.
"I know it's been a complex matter for them, but I'm hugely grateful for their support on this."
Newshub.
