Australian Rugby Union supports New Zealand Rugby Union’s stance on 2015 Rugby World Cup
Following the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) Chief Executive Officer, Steve Tew’s, comments regarding their expected non-participation in the 2015 Rugby World Cup (RWB), Australian Rugby Union (ARU) has publically supported NZRU’s stance on the matter.
Tew in an interview to Guardian on Tuesday, September 27, has hinted at missing out of the International Rugby Board’s (IRB) 2015 RWC. He cited the financial losses born by the union as the main reason for their decision.
ARU CEO, John O’Neil, has backed his counterpart’s point of view on the issue on Wednesday, September 28. He said, “As Steve Tew correctly pointed out, the current economic model is unsustainable and unacceptable.”
Earlier, Tew claimed that NZRU has incurred a loss of approximately £7 million because of their participation in this year’s RWC tournament. New Zealand is the hosts of the global event, yet Tew was resolute in his demands to review the current IRB policies
related to the global tournament.
IRB organizes the Rugby Union’s premier tournament, once after every four years. 2011 RWC is the seventh RWC, with 1987 being the inaugural year for the global showpiece tournament.
O’Neil has reiterated his support for the IRB’s on-going plan for the promotion and development of the game. He said, “The ARU firmly supports ongoing funding assistance programmes for emerging nations and for the growth of the game worldwide.” He added
that such a program is essential for the development of the game and for the development of the tier–two unions into the tier–one unions.
However, O’Neil has stressed the need to ensure the financial health of the tier–one unions’. He added that tier–one unions are the main attraction of the RWC tournament but with outdated and relatively strict policies coupled with increase in the players'
costs has put a considerable burden on financial health of these unions.
O’Neil has urged the IRB to seriously look into the matter and deemed it infeasible for sustain another loss in the future.
On the other hand, IRB has already announced a complete review of the current RWC model by May 2012. It is expected that the findings will be presented before the member associations and their concerns will be addressed in the new model.
England will host the 2015 RWC, however, the omission of All Blacks and Wallabies will have an adverse effect not only on the tournament but on the game as well.
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