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TV warns: no more B teams
By Wayne Smith
July 13, 2007
THE fallout from South Africa's decision to send a B team to its Tri-Nations away matches continues, with broadcasters yesterday warning SANZAR there would be severe financial repercussions if it happened again.
Although the mood going into the SANZAR (South African Rugby Union, the New Zealand Rugby Football Union and the Australian Rugby Union) board meeting yesterday in Christchurch was tense following the Australian Rugby Union's savage attack on South Africa for sending a second-string team to Sydney for last Saturday's Tri-Nations Test, the widely predicted break-up of southern hemisphere rugby's joint venture never emerged as an option.
But while no details of the meeting will be revealed until a press conference today, it is understood some blunt words were spoken, most of them by representatives of the major broadcasters Fox Sports, SuperSport and Sky.
The broadcasters reportedly made it clear that the SANZAR partners would be deluding themselves if they thought South Africa's selection of a second-string touring side and New Zealand's decision to stand down 22 senior All Blacks from this year's Super 14 had gone unnoticed. Any repeat, SANZAR was warned, would hit the organisation hard in the hip pocket.
The broadcasters also put the code's world governing body, the International Rugby Board, on notice to bring an abrupt end to the growing trend of northern hemisphere countries sending B teams south of the equator, especially in World Cup years.
Provide second-rate content, SANZAR was told, and the penalty would be second-rate television rights fees. All three SANZAR partners were affected by northern hemisphere indifference this year, with Wales sending a B team to Australia, France and England virtual C teams to New Zealand and South Africa respectively.
Certainly the hard-line message from the television rights holders would have dovetailed with what the ARU has been saying to its partners all year, that SANZAR was risking a massive downgrade in television fees or worse, the loss of major sponsor News Corporation (publisher of The Australian) if it continued to play fast and loose with the quality of the product.
That message finally appeared to sink in yesterday with South Africa and New Zealand giving Australia a commitment not to repeat this year's disastrous downgrading of the southern hemisphere's major provincial and international tournaments. That resolution, welcome though it was, came too late to save the ARU, which came in more than $750,000 under its anticipated revenue from last Saturday's Springboks Test.
The South African media had whipped itself into a frenzy over the meeting, with SARU president Regan Hoskins and chief executive Jonathan Stones urged to tell ARU chief executive John O'Neill to "get lost".
O'Neill's criticism of the selection of a second-string Springboks side won him and Australia no friends in the republic, with a number of media outlets urging South Africa to turn its back on its SANZAR partners and play in an expanded Six Nations and European Cup.
The pro-Europe argument that South Africa is in the same time zone as Britain would appear to be undermined by the fact the Six Nations is played at the height of summer for South Africa.
What future direction SANZAR will take will be discussed at a strategic planning meeting today, with the hot issues likely to be the possible admission of Argentina, whether the Tri-Nations should be played in World Cup years and whether the format employed last year, where Australia played three Tests against the All Blacks and Springboks, should be retained.
The growing sentiment that the Tri-Nations format is becoming tired would suggest SANZAR might decide to scale back the tournament to the reduced schedule employed this year because of the World Cup, with each country playing one Test at home and away against each other. And if variety is needed, the Pumas would certainly provide it, on the condition that Argentina had full call on its European-based players.
SANZAR vows to end B-grade horror
July 13, 2007
SOUTHERN hemisphere rugby bosses pledged today never again to field weakened teams in the Tri-Nations and Super 14.
"It's fair to say that it will never happen again," said John O'Neill, chief executive of South Africa New Zealand and Australia Rugby (SANZAR).
South Africa's decision to rest 20 leading players from the second half of the Tri-Nations competition and New Zealand's exclusion of 22 players during the first half of the Super 14, angered their partners, sponsors and rugby supporters.
Preparation for September's Rugby World Cup was cited as the main reason behind both decisions.
"We discussed the issue robustly and directly and openly in the spirit of the joint venture," said O'Neill, who recently returned for a second stint as chief executive of the Australian Rugby Union.
"There was a very distinct recognition that World Cup year was a problem.
"We have agreed that we need to give an assurance that for the next World Cup the scheduling issue will be resolved and that the requirement that we field the best available teams will be addressed."
O'Neill said the SANZAR unions would be working together between now and November to formulate a joint approach to the International Rugby Board's (IRB) plans to establish an integrated international season.
The SANZAR nations also want an end to northern hemisphere national unions sending weakened teams to the south in the June test window.
Club commitments and World Cup preparations meant that significantly weakened French, English and Welsh teams visited the SANZAR nations last month.
"It's not acceptable for the northern hemisphere to send second string teams down here and just expect us to cop it," said O'Neill.
"We work very hard to ensure that our best teams go north in their autumn window."
O'Neill acknowledged SANZAR did not have the institutional structures to enforce their pledge on the three member unions.
"We can't be precise about the methodology," he said, while adding that the solution lay in a combination of directions.
"It's around scheduling - it's working with the IRB and the potential for an integrated global season, and to work with our own individual unions and coaches to ensure we honour our obligations to each other, to the broadcasters, to the sponsors and fans."
New Zealand host a weakened South Africa in Christchurch on Saturday before the Tri-Nations concludes when Australia play the All Blacks in Auckland on July 21.
Reuters
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