 | There are no guarantees that Sam would want to stay or that we would want to keep him Blues coach Dai Young on Sam Norton-Knight |
Coach Dai Young says the future of Sam Norton-Knight at Cardiff Blues is under review, with other parties looking at him, including sides from Australia. "There are no guarantees Sam would want to stay or we would want to keep him," Young told the Scrum V Radio show. The two-cap Australia utility back has struggled since his arrival last summer and the Blues will have Dan Parks and Ben Blair in his favoured positions. Young also revealed that Gareth Delve is a potential summer transfer target. The Cardiff-born Wales number eight is considering a new contract at Gloucester and would be a replacement for Xavier Rush, who will leave the Blues for Ulster in the summer.  Young says Gloucester and Wales number eight Delve is on his radar |
"We have to move on [from Rush's departure] and look at who's out there," Young told the BBC Radio Wales programme. "We've had Gareth on our radar for a number of years. The decision will probably be later rather than sooner, there are many players we are looking at, but he's one in the mix. "Although Xavier leaves a big hole we have got a Lions number eight in Andy Powell, so it's not necessarily the place we need to recruit. "We have to look at the team, evaluate who's out there and who would make the biggest impact." Young said that the loss of Rush would be keenly felt and that he was eager to retain his services, but suggested that the Blues had possibly seen the best of the former All Black. "We have had five tremendous years out of Xavier, he's been absolutely outstanding for us on the field and off it where he's been as big a help to me," said the former Wales captain. | There was no doubt as far as I'm concerned that he had bigger and better deals on offer elsewhere |
"Whether he can maintain those standards for another two years, who knows, father time catches up with us all in the end." Rush's expected departure was announced on Monday when it was revealed that another former All Black - full-back Ben Blair - would extend his stay in the Welsh capital until 2012. "Ben was attracting a lot of big-money offers," said Young. "We put our best offer we could afford to him, the top and bottom was that Ben wanted to stay. "There was no doubt as far as I'm concerned that he had bigger and better deals on offer elsewhere, but his family are really settled and he enjoys it here." Blair's decision to commit could have a knock-on effect on Norton-Knight, who may have been considered as a full-back next season. The 26-year-old Australian arrived in Wales stating that the chance to play at fly-half had motivated the move, Norton-Knight having played much of his New South Wales Waratahs rugby at 15. | 606: DEBATE |
But he endured a nightmare debut against Edinburgh and has faced widespread criticism of his ability as a stand-off controller. The Blues responded quickly by moving for Scotland fly-half Dan Parks, who will join from Glasgow in the summer. That could help facilitate the exit of Norton-Knight, who may explore the options in his homeland. Opportunities are likely to arise in Australia as they launch a fifth regional team next season, a new Melbourne-based franchise to compete in the expanded Super 15 in 2011. "[Norton-Knight's position is] under review from both parties," Young told Scrum V Radio. "It hasn't quite worked out the way both parties would have liked at the end of the day. "It's an ongoing decision for Sam as well as us to commit to each other - we're working through it at the minute. | Sam is attracting interest from other parties, certainly back in Australia |
"The time scale [for the decision] will be sooner rather than later. "From our point of view, we've brought a player from the other side of the world and we're not going to discard him. "That's not our style and I'm sure he's a better player than he's demonstrating at the minute. "We've got Ben Blair and Dan Parks, so Sam's obviously going to be up against it next season. "But that's not to say he's not prepared to stick it out and fight. "Being the quality player that he is, Sam is attracting interest from other parties, certainly back in Australia. "It could be that he may decide that's the right avenue for him."
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