Larkham still to sign with ARU
December 14, 2001

Brumbies five-eighth Stephen Larkham remains the only Wallaby still in doubt for the 2003 World Cup in Australia.

Blockbusting No.8 Toutai Kefu ended speculation today by renewing his contract with the Australian Rugby Union through to the World Cup, while captain George Gregan's signing is believed to be imminent.

Kefu knocked back a lucrative offer to play club rugby in Japan, but will re-assess his future when the contract is again up for renewal.

"We've got one to go and that's Steve Larkham and we're negotiating with him as well," ARU high performance manager Jeff Miller said.

"For many of our senior players it's (the World Cup) sort of a landmark for them to reassess their careers and maybe re-evaluate whether they would like to go overseas. We will move next year to look at extensions of contracts depending on where we feel positioned for 2004.

"I know that Kef loves playing for Australia and I'm assuming it would have been a very difficult decision for him ... we couldn't match the offer so it shows he is totally committed."

Tulia Whippy, part of Kefu's management team, confirmed the ARU offer was "much less" than the reported $2 million offered to play in Japan. Whippy said the Queensland Red was staying out of loyalty to Australian rugby.

"He just wanted to be recognised as one of the leading Wallabies," Whippy said.

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