Friendly chat for All Blacks, Wallabies
Top Australian and New Zealand players have described a watershed conference call as ‘‘a really good step forward’’ as both countries prepare to relaunch their Super Rugby competitions.
Australian captain Michael Hooper and new All Blacks captain Sam Cane led a 12-strong player contingent on a 90-minute call with Justin Harrison and Rob Nichol, the chief executives of their player unions, to discuss opportunities to work together and combine their competitions amid the coronavirus shutdown.
New Zealand sport has been buoyed by news on Thursday that a domestic Super Rugby competition and premiership netball would begin as early as June, while interim Rugby Australia boss Rob Clarke confirmed Australian teams were still working towards a July 4 kickoff for a five-team competition including the Western Force.
One player on Wednesday’s call, which also included Matt Toomua and Damien Fitzpatrick, said the Australians’ counterparts – including All Blacks Aaron Smith, Scott Barrett and Sam Whitelock – were all enthusiastic and keen to develop ideas that benefited both countries.
‘‘We didn’t unlock the Enigma code but we know there’s a real appetite to work together and we were really encouraged by it,’’ Harrison said. The hookup was the first of its kind to be held between the players of both countries. Domestic iterations of Super Rugby are the only options under current travel restrictions and Australia still has to wait until state borders open up, or else invest in an expensive NRL-style ‘‘bubble’’ model, which seems unlikely given the game’s financial woes.
But the players and both unions appear enthusiastic about potential cross-border linkups, in the format of a Super Rugby finals series and in a Bledisloe Cup test schedule.
Clarke revealed RA had submitted their competition proposals to the federal government on Monday and to the relevant state governments on Thursday.
‘‘We’re hoping New Zealand opens up sooner rather than later and that then gives us a great opportunity to look at what competition structures may exist with New Zealand, but we await the government’s response on travel,’’ he said.
The new Australian rugby boss also said the organisation had until May 31 to have its 2019 financials audited, signed off and submitted to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission under revised government legislation.
The arrival of a long-term, lowinterest loan from World Rugby, worth up to $16 million, will be key to whether the RA directors can attest to the business being a going concern.
Clarke was confident the money would arrive in time but conceded the game was in poor financial health, referring to the code’s decision to cut the Western Force to avoid insolvency in 2017. ‘‘Decisions were made three years ago primarily on financial sustainability priorities and the game has faced its challenges since then,’’ he said.