NRL to widen rorting spotlight
talking about TV rights.
‘‘From a Duco perspective this could be the hardest event we’ve ever put together. It’s the Mt Everest. The New Zealand and Australian rugby unions have been great to work with.’’
With all costs covered, teams are expected to take squads of up to 40 and contest a grand prize of about $250,000. Matches will be played over 10-minute halves.
The February window sits two weeks before the start of the Super Rugby season and the tournament will replace one pre-season fixture.
New Zealand Rugby general manager of relationships, planning and operations Nigel Cass was pleased with progress the event had made.
‘‘The major plus is it gives a really exciting pre-start and brings everyone back from summer with a focus on the start of Super Rugby,’’ Cass said.
‘‘We’ve worked closely with Rob Nichol of the Players’ Association and the teams and we think there are very sensible arrangements in place and how it fits in the wider pre-season programme. That side of things has taken some time to work through but we’re happy with where that’s got to.
‘‘Our teams are continuing to work with Duco but the deal is not done until it’s done.’’
Unlike the Nines, the 10s ownership structure allows Duco to develop direct relationships with specific clubs and individual players to ensure a much greater turnout of stars, the likes of Sonny Bill Williams and Israel Folau.
Eddie Jones, John Eales and Ali Williams have been consulted about the tournament and Deans spoke enthusiastically about his team attending.
‘‘It’s a great concept,’’ Deans said. ‘‘The traditionalist gets frustrated with sevens because it’s almost too fast and it doesn’t have that same point of difference in XVs where it generally caters for all shapes and sizes. This is a good blend of the two versions.
‘‘There is some awareness of 10s for those people in the code but for those who tend to watch rugby on TV I think they’ll enjoy the spectacle. When you take five players off the field you get the speed and width, but you also get defence and set-piece elements. Teams have to work harder for momentum than in sevens.’’ The NRL will turn its attention to the role of player managers – and potentially players – in the next phase of its investigation into Parramatta’s systematic rorting of the salary cap.
The governing body confirmed its provisional sanctions against the embattled club yesterday, including the docking of 12 competition points, a $1 million fine and the stripping of the Auckland Nines title.
Eels officials had the opportunity to shave $250,000 off the sanction if they had undertaken appropriate governance reforms.
However, their antagonistic stance against head office resulted in the potential reduction being withdrawn from the table.
Five administrators, known as the ‘‘gang of five’’ – chairman Steve Sharp, deputy chairman Tom Issa, director Peter Serrao, chief executive John Boulous and football manager Daniel Anderson – have had their registrations cancelled for their roles in the scandal.
The NRL suspected more officials were in on the rorts.
It decided to only breach those it had a solid case against.
While yesterday officially marked the day the competition table was readjusted – the Eels now sit in 12th spot and need to win all of their remaining games to be a chance of playing finals football – the NRL’s probe isn’t over yet.
The next phase will look at the role of player managers.
They could also face deregistration if it can be proven they were part of the illegal payments scheme.
‘‘This part of the investigation closes today,’’ NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg said yesterday.
‘‘But what we have been doing is continuing to look at other parts.
‘‘I would expect in coming weeks there will be a file handed over to the agents accreditation committee, which will look at another range of material issues.’’