Fardy exposes the faceless men

MELBOURNE: Former Australia loose forward Scott Fardy has criticised Super Rugby’s governing body SANZAAR as an organisation of “faceless men in suits” far removed from the players on the pitch who are worried about their livelihoods.

The Brumbies flanker will head overseas after the current season to play in Ireland but fired a parting shot early to the competition’s managers who have presided over a bungled expansion that will end with one Australian team and two South African sides culled for next year.

One of either the Rebels or Force will be cut from the Australian conference but the final decision may be delayed further by legal action launched by the teams against the Australian Rugby Union.

Local media and pundits have slammed SANZAAR and the ARU for the protracted process that has kept players in the dark about their futures two months into the season. But Fardy was unsurprised. “It’s disappointing it’s taken this long but is anyone surprised? This is the game we’re in, it’s been like this for a long time,” he said. “The officialdom in this game has always been like that.

“Obviously everyone looks at the ARU at the moment but you wouldn’t know who the head of SANZAAR is – I wouldn’t know what he looks like,” Fardy said of SANZAAR CEO Andy Marinos.

“In other sports, especially in Australia, you have a head we can look at. In SANZAAR rugby we don’t know who is running it. It’s faceless men in suits in board rooms.”

In its statement announcing the competition’s contraction a week ago, SANZAAR defended its handling of the protracted process.

“This has been a long and complex piece of work and we make no apology for that,” Marinos said.

Along with Force and the Rebels, the twice champions Brumbies were the third team the ARU weighed cutting from the competition but the Canberra side’s future was confirmed last week. – Reuters