Just because it works for Dan Carter doesn't mean it will work for Australian rugby.

The player drain to Europe is a serious issue for world rugby and will become more so for Australia.

At the end of the All Blacks' tour this November, New Zealand star Carter will play in the French competition and then return for the June Tests.

In principle, lending our best players to European clubs for short stints sounds great. But the devil is definitely in the detail and I don't think the concept has legs.

In many ways the northern hemisphere clubs are no different from Australian Super 14 teams. They expect loyalty, they are very tribal and they look to the future in developing a club and culture.

And one thing they don't accept is blow-ins who come just for the money. Over the past couple of years a couple of Australian players have fallen into that category and they didn't last long. Others such as Newcastle Falcon Matt Burke have fitted into the team and made outstanding contributions - and have been rewarded accordingly.

I see the appeal in heading overseas for Australian players but their circumstances are likely to be very different from those of Carter.

His club, Toulon, have been promoted from second to first division and their primary aim is to stay there. In order to do that they've spent up big on Carter while the rest of the players get up to speed with the rise in standard.

Injuries will always be a factor and there could be an opportunity for an Australian to replace a European player at the last minute.

But these things happen overnight and most northern hemisphere raids on our players require planning.

The difficulty in all of this is that most clubs only have two foreign spaces available and very few Australian have European passports.

There are 14 French and 12 English clubs and they all require imports to hold foreign passports. So there are just limited spots available.

Only South African players have slipped through the cracks because of the Kolpak trade ruling, which allows some of them to play as locals.

There's no doubt the face of rugby is changing. Most players have only about a decade at the top and, in my experience, most put playing for their country as their priority for the first half of their careers.

But after about five years they start to look for other options and their priorities change dramatically. They need to make the most of their careers and accumulate as much money as they can for their future.

They still value playing for their country but know they are only one bad game or injury away from being out the door. So going overseas is a good financial move if they are at the top of their game.

The loss of Rocky Elsom will be a huge one for the Wallabies. Elsom is coming into his own and is an influential member of the team.

Most European clubs will target the likes of Carter and Matt Giteau, the threads of gold in the backline, and are more than comfortable opening the cheque book to get them.

One of the answers, if we can't match it in the money stakes, is to replace the talent that leaves. I don't want to sound like a broken record but the lack of a provincial national competition will damage our representative chances in the future.

We need to develop talent and bring it through. I've seen quite bit of club rugby in Sydney and Brisbane in recent weeks and the standard is way below the Super 14.

In no way am I bagging club competition - club rugby is the lifeblood of Australian rugby. But the clear answer in combating the player drain to the northern hemisphere is to better develop our talent.