Rugby-Marshall admits he was 'average' union player

April 22 (Reuters) - Former New Zealand rugby league captain Benji Marshall has no regrets about his aborted switch to rugby union but admits he was only an "average" player in the 15-man code. Marshall called time on his stint with the Auckland Blues on Monday having made one start and played just 212 minutes in the first season of his two-year deal with the Super Rugby team. "My lack of the technical aspects of rugby union was what was letting me down and I felt like I was playing rugby league on a rugby field with 14 other rugby players," he told New Zealand's Fairfax media. "But I definitely don't regret it because I have got everything I wanted to get out of it except the performance on the field, which just hasn't worked out the way I wanted it to and I am just an average rugby player. "I got a fresh start back in New Zealand, got fit, got the motivation, got the hunger and I feel real good and feel fresh." The 29-year-old playmaker made the move to union after 10 seasons at Wests Tigers in Australia's National Rugby League (NRL) hoping to emulate Sonny Bill Williams by becoming a dual international with the All Blacks. His aspirations of securing the starting flyhalf role at the Blues were dashed, though, when the number 10 shirt was instead handed to the unheralded Simon Hickey. Marshall came on as a replacement in the 39-20 defeat by the Wellington Hurricanes last Friday and it was coach John Kirwan's suggestion he might play at a lower grade to prepare for 2015 season which prompted his exit. "The decision was not about being frustrated about game time, I love it here," he said. "(But) I have probably got a couple of years left in me realistically and I want those to be enjoyable and competitive and at the highest level. "I don't really want to go back to club level and have to start again in rugby." Negotiations on bringing an official end to his lucrative contract are expected to be concluded this week and Marshall is likely to decline interest from English rugby league club Salford and return to the NRL. Wests Tigers chief executive Grant Mayer made it clear, however, that Marshall was not part of the plans for the future at his only previous NRL team. "Unfortunately there's no room in our top 25 for Benji Marshall next year. He made a decision and we have to move on," Mayer told the Daily Telegraph. (Editing by Greg Stutchbury)