Pichot fights for tier-two progression
Rugby chief says legacy of tournament must be to help smaller nations, writes Mick Cleary
World Rugby vice-chairman Agustin Pichot fears the legacy of the World Cup will be wasted if countries such as Japan are not admitted to annual competitions such as the Rugby Championship or given more games against tier-one countries.
Pichot, the former Pumas scrum-half, led the fight for Argentina to be included in Super Rugby as well as the Rugby Championship, and now wants to see Japan accorded similar status.
“If we don’t find a solution on the calendar for the likes of Japan within the next year, then the legacy will be wasted,” said Pichot, who also wants to see greater recognition for teams such as Uruguay, Namibia and Fiji.
“It is all about the growth of our game. What do we want to do? Stand still? Or keep the status quo and just carry on asking these same questions every four years when there is a World Cup?”
Pichot’s call to action comes after the failure of World Rugby to implement a global Nations Championship in which the top 12 nations would have played each other with a view to establishing a route into the top echelon in a promotion and relegation system. But, despite that setback, Pichot is determined to fight for the tier-two sides who have shone so brightly in Japan.
“We have just over three more weeks left of this World Cup, which has been a fantastic tournament,” he said. “I don’t like the term ‘tier-two’ but those teams have made a full contribution, too. The circus moves on and what happens then for those sides? Look at Japan. The focus has been on them and they have performed. But how many games do they have scheduled against tier-one countries over the next four-year cycle? Only a few. It is up to World Rugby to come up with a strategic plan for these countries.
“We tried once and we failed to deliver it. But I stick to my belief that there should be a pathway for everyone.”
Pichot hoped that pathway would be through the Nations Championship, which would have taken place twice in every fouryear cycle so that it did not clash with a British and Irish Lions tour or a World Cup and was backed by a £5billion, 12-year finance package through Swissbased Infront media. There was scepticism about the initiative, however, particularly in the Six Nations, who were pursuing their own plans to attract greater funding through aggregating their broadcast rights and have recently entered into exclusive negotiations with private equity firm CVC Holdings, for a 15 per cent stake in their competitions, worth £300million.
The Six Nations’ stance has since been criticised and Fiji coach John Mckee yesterday added his voice to those arguing self-interest had prevailed.
“That was massively disappointing for Fiji. The opportunity got blocked by self-interest at the Six Nations,” Mckee told Reuters. “I think for World Rugby, the significance of the international game needs to be kept at the forefront.
“The concern would be that the professional clubs are getting bigger and more powerful to the point that rugby becomes more like football, where there’s not that much interest in internationals outside the World Cup. That’s not the structure that rugby union’s built on.”
As far as Pichot is concerned, there is no question he will carry on the fight. “We didn’t work hard enough to persuade others of the merits of our plan and to secure the best outcome,” he added. “It was exactly because we wanted to be ready for a success story like Japan’s at this World Cup that we were proactive in trying to get the Nations Championship off the ground. It was not because we wanted to control everything ourselves rather than the Six Nations or SANZAR do.
“No, it was about having a strategic plan so Japan or Tonga or Uruguay or whoever could see a pathway through if they wanted it. Personally, I don’t think promotion and relegation was the big stumbling block. I can see some people might have thought that there was a revolution happening and they found that frightening. But I also know we could have found a way round it all. We should have done better in talking to people on that. We have to take care of everyone at World Rugby, be mindful of all those countries and give them hope.”
There are calls for Pichot to run for World Rugby chairmanship next spring on a mission statement of improving the lot of the tier-two countries. The 45-year-old insists he will wait until the World Cup is over before deciding his future.
“I have an exceptional relationship with [World Rugby chairman] Bill Beaumont and I respect him so much that this World Cup must pass before I come to a decision,” said Pichot.
“But we have to challenge the global calendar and present a solution. We are not looking for a 20-week international block across the year or anything like that. It is our responsibility, though, at World Rugby to consider everyone. And we must take advantage of this World Cup.”