Snubbed Bay of Plenty No 8 Colin Bourke is "dumbfounded" to miss out on a Super Rugby job for 2012 and will reluctantly head overseas to continue his professional rugby career.



Bourke was the shock omission when New Zealand's five Super Rugby squads were announced this week, with new Chiefs coach Dave Rennie deciding the Bay skipper's face didn't fit and the remaining four franchises electing not to pick him up via the draft.



The Steamers loose forward is a multi-talented No 8 who in previous seasons had even been mentioned in despatches as an All Black contender after some fine form at provincial level.



However he appears to have paid a high price for a 2010 trip to play for the Barbarians in the UK that saw him suffer a serious shoulder injury and miss the entire Super Rugby season this year.



But he's fit again now and proved that in the pre-World Cup ITM Cup campaign.



Bourke's omission is even more mystifying when you consider the Highlanders have gone for England No 8 James Haskell among their loose forwards and the Blues are largely bereft of topline No 8 talent in their squad. Pat Lam is gambling on Brad Mika, who has been out for a year with a succession of injuries, to fill the back-of-scrum role.



Bourke told Radio Sport today he was disappointed to effectively be forced to take his game overseas.



"We had a talk to Dave towards the end of the last Super 15 campaign, and got the word he wasn't too keen on my services again," he said.



"We were interested in playing another Super 15 if the chance arose, but the hand has been dealt and I guess I'll go overseas a little bit earlier than I thought."



Bourke, at just 27, still has plenty of rugby in front of him and it has mystified a number of pundits that he is not among the 153 contracted players unveiled on Wednesday.



Bourke said to Radio Sport that Rennie had told him he was too similar a player to Liam Messam and Fritz Lee and there was no point in having all three in the Chiefs.



"I was a little bit dumbfounded by that. But at the end of the day he's the coach and he's responsible for the team. I didn't want to argue with him," added Bourke.



"Up till a couple of days before the squads were named I think there were a couple of franchises interested, but I was called by my agent just before and told that they wouldn't be proceeding any further, so we could start looking overseas."



Bourke said he has no problems with the decision by Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph to sign England's Haskell ahead of him.



"It's all gone franchise now, it's a job and they see him as a good acquisition. All the best to him and I guess I've got to get on with my own career now."



Bourke had no firm offers in front of him as yet, though Japan and France both appealed as potential destinations.



And he said the mass rejection had not dented his confidence too much.



"I'm confident in my ability and myself and I'm proud of what I've done with Bay of Plenty. Obviously I haven't played too many Super Rugby games for whatever reason, but I'm looking forward if something does come up overseas getting over there and showing what I can do as well."



Bourke supporters, of which there are many, will say New Zealand's loss is someone else's gain. Just who that someone else will be should become clear sooner rather than later.