ABs must not be circus act
New Zealand Rugby are desperate to make money but they don’t need to turn the All Blacks into a circus act to achieve that.
Efforts to match the All Blacks against the Kangaroos in a hybrid game of rugby and rugby league are cringe-worthy.
The All Blacks have dominated the Wallabies for so long and have absolutely nothing to gain in terms of reputation by playing Australia at league.
Even to match the two teams together on the basis of their supriority in their own sports is an insult. Rugby is barely global in terms of a competitive top level of teams but league has just three or four sides capable of turning it on regularly.
What’s next? Rugby was recently called out by an American gridiron player and the All Blacks were almost instant in their response, suggesting he train with them.
Could the All Blacks take on an American football team in another hybrid extravaganza? Will they go around the world trying to implant their rugby dominance on other sports?
What’s the point? What does it prove?
Rugby as a sport has bigger issues on its hands looking at its own game rather than trying to invent a leftfield alternative.
Meaningful domestic and international competitions should be top of the agenda, along with trying to gain some sense with their international partners around a viable global calendar.
There’s also the need to get the All Blacks back to No 1 in rugby after their semifinal exit at the last World Cup.
New coach Ian Foster has his hands full taking on the track record of Steve Hansen and the All Blacks without worrying about who plays dummy half and what the tackle count is.
There have been justified concerns around the potential for injuries to leading New Zealand rugby players in this so-called hybrid game.
There has also been question marks about rules could help to make the game competitive when one sport takes scrums seriously and the other turns them into nothing more than a square dance. Then there’s the matter of lineouts.
Yes, league and rugby can offer each other a fair bit in terms of marketing and improving their products. These days they operate more as friendly rivals rather than the cold shoulder approach of the past.
But that doesn’t mean they need to come together as one.
And rugby certainly doesn’t need their standard-setting All Blacks to be the ones to get involved in something as silly as this.