Grave concerns for Kiwis’ US test
OPINION: NRL chief medical officer Paul Bloomfield and chief operating officer Nick Weeks have condemned the June test match between New Zealand and England to be played in Denver, at the highest altitude of any major city in the US, in the middle of summer, after a 20-hour flight for the alleged betterment of international rugby league.
Meanwhile, chief executive Todd Greenberg has no opinion on the issue.
It is understood NRL executives, club representatives and the RLPA met last week to discuss the match slated for Denver’s Mile High Stadium on June 24 as part of the stand-alone representative weekend.
According to those at the meeting, Bloomfield and Weeks have grave concerns like the clubs, mostly because of player welfare.
Greenberg is a member of the Rugby League International Federation and cannot show his hand on the matter. ‘‘He’s in a very tricky position,’’ says one powerbroker.
Perhaps. He’s also the boss of the NRL, whose clubs will be most affected and players most at risk.
An angry letter is being drafted and will be sent in coming days to the New Zealand Rugby League and England’s Rugby Football League, outlining unresolved concerns about travel time, injuries, player welfare, how much players will be paid, insurance …
Let’s hope the angry letter does its job because, no matter which way you look at it, this match is an embarrassment for the game.
People can keep hiding behind the throwaway line that it will ‘‘promote international rugby league’’! That clubs who were never consulted about the fixture before it was announced are ‘‘selfinterested’’! That it will capture the hearts and minds of Americans ahead of the 2025 World Cup in North America!
Let’s see how much promotion the game receives if a player suffers severe altitude sickness in front of 76,000 fans, collapses and starts vomiting uncontrollably all for the sake of lining the coffers of the New Zealand and England rugby leagues.
Competing at altitude affects athletes in different ways.
At the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, which has an altitude of 2250 metres, Australian team members were gasping for air trying to reach their rooms on the fourth floor of the athletes’ village.
World records tumbled in the sprint events but some endurance athletes came close to death because of altitude sickness, including Australian Ron Clarke who collapsed over the line in the 10,000m and in later years said his health never recovered.