Ambitious plan for ALL BLACKS
But NZ Rugby boss ducks for cover on concussion and delays format decision
New Zealand Rugby boss Mark Robinson has fronted the concussion cloud, revealed the All Blacks’ opponents for next year but delayed a decision on the future of the Mitre 10 Cup format after the body’s final board meeting of the year yesterday.
Robinson confirmed the All Blacks will, Covid permitting, welcome Italy (two tests) and Fiji ( one) in July.
Following the Bledisloe Cup and Rugby Championship fixtures, the All Blacks hope to trek north in November for their traditional end of season tour where they will face Italy as well as Ireland and France.
Two additional tests are likely to be added around those November tests, with matches in the United States, Japan and Europe possible.
“We’re looking at opportunities to play games outside our regular window in November. We’ve got a relatively new All Black group who had a very truncated season this year so we want to provide opportunity for them to play. There are financial considerations that go with these decisions, and we have to balance that with player welfare.”
Consensus on if the Mitre 10 Cup’s two-tiered Championship and Premiership format should be retained, or the 14 unions split into North and South pools with four crossover games, was not reached.
Although New Zealand Rugby’s preference is to push ahead with the revamped North and South pool format to slash more than $700,000 in travel and accommodation costs, further consolation with the unions, Players’ Association and broadcast partner Sky Television is required and an agreement is now not likely before Christmas.
The Herald understands a standoff has developed with the players resisting a change of format while NZR wants to save costs following its $40m hit to cash reserves this year.
Robinson confirmed provincial union funding would be cut by 10 per cent next year and the Farah Palmer Cup would return to a national competition in 2021.
“There is not 100 per cent unanimous agreement and that’s why we have to take a little bit more time to work through and finalise that,” Robinson said of the format standoff.
“We’ve established the fact that we’re going to reach out to our stakeholders in the very near future and working on a basic principle, the same number of teams, played across the same window, look at a couple of different options and share those in a little more detail and work through with our key stakeholders.”
On the vexed issue of concussion — following news that eight men, including 2003 Rugby World Cupwinner Steve Thompson, are planning legal action against World Rugby, the Rugby Football Union and the Welsh Rugby Union — Robinson largely ducked for cover with NZ Rugby not yet directly implicated.
Robinson, the former All Blacks midfielder, confirmed he suffered head knocks during his career but had no lingering effects.
“As a player, I played for a long time and have suffered concussions on a few occasions and played at a time where certainly the education in this space was continuing to grow.
“We took all the precautions back when I was an athlete and we’ve only got better over time.
“We know we can be better and must keep working in this area because it is very complex. We have a huge amount of sympathy and empathy for anyone in rugby struggling domestically and internationally — our hearts go out to them.
“The potential for class action is a reality that’s emerged offshore that we can’t talk about in any detail.”
NZ Rugby received $5.41m from the Government’s sport recovery package — $3.4m of which will focus on Ma¯ori, women and disabilities, with the remaining $2.41m invested in sevens in preparation for next year’s rescheduled Olympic Games.
NZ Rugby also set an objective for all its boards to embrace 50 per cent diversity, including one third female representation, by 2024.
We know we can be better and must keep working in this area. Mark Robinson on concussion