Robinson central to power struggle
The battle for Fiji’s crucial vote in the upcoming World Rugby chairman election is shaping up as a contest between the Sanzaar trio of New Zealand Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson, Argentina’s Agustin Pichot and Rugby Australia director Brett Robinson versus the persuasive powers of French rugby boss Bernard Laporte.
Of that quartet only Pichot is running for the top job but don’t be fooled into thinking the others won’t play a role in Fiji’s vote, which could swing the race between Pichot and England’s Bill Beaumont.
Stuff has been told that behind the scenes Robinson, who was elected to World Rugby’s Executive Committee in 2014, has built a reputation for being receptive to Tier 2 nations – up to a point – when sitting on World Rugby’s Pacific Islands Working Group.
Crucially, Robinson is on that group alongside Pichot and Brett Robinson, a key group of allies in world rugby politics.
A source familiar with the group said the Sanzaar trio had demonstrated a greater commitment to the Tier 2 cause than either Beaumont or Laporte.
The three brought very different characteristics to the table – the Kiwi was the quiet consensus seeker, the Argentine the firebrand agitator and the Aussie the pragmatic achiever with little time for time wasters – but collectively they were on the side of change.
Consequently, eyebrows were raised when the World Rugby nominations were announced last week and it appeared that the Fiji Rugby Union had apparently aligned itself with Beaumont and Laporte.
The now-fallen Fiji Rugby Union chairman Francis Kean was seconded for a position on the ExCo by France, while Fiji seconded Beaumont’s nomination for a second term as chairman.
Why had Fiji apparently turned its back on seemingly natural allies within Sanzaar?
First, it must be remembered that as many of Fiji’s players are employed in France, there are ample opportunities for French rugby authorities to be a friend to Fiji.
And if you are a Fijian who is looking for friends then Laporte, the Federation Franc¸ aise de Rugby president who is running as Beaumont’s vice-chairman, is not a bad one to have.
In fact, that power imbalance between the wealthy Tier 1 nations and their cash-strapped Tier 2 counterparts remains of the game’s great structural challenges.
One sad element of the Kean controversy is that it has obscured this fundamental problem.
It is all very well to wag fingers at governance issues in the Pacific Islands and other Tier 2 nations, but how can that truly change when they still rely upon the patronage of wealthier unions?
Another point to consider is that Robinson and NZ Rugby’s support for the Pacific Islands has been far from open-ended.
Requests from Fiji to allow more Fijian players to play in Super Rugby and still represent Fiji have been largely resisted by NZ Rugby, even when Robinson took the reins as CEO.
Sevu Reece is a case in point. The All Blacks wing was on Fiji’s radar long before he revitalised his career with the Crusaders, but when NZ Rugby came calling he was gone.
So, Fiji finds itself in a tricky position: caught between the powerful Anglo-French alliance of Beaumont and Laporte on the one side and the Sanzaar nations on the other.
Ultimately self interest might rule when Fiji casts its vote in the May election and the question NZ Rugby and its Sanzaar partners must ask is: have we done enough?
PICHOT