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The All Blacks performing the haka
International rugby resumes this weekend when New Zealand All the black people take on Australia Wallabies in Wellington, but the mood before the game is more resentful than celebratory.
As Southern Hemisphere heavyweights prepared this week for Sunday’s Bledisloe Cup opener, Rugby Australia President Hamish McLennan admitted that relations with his New Zealand counterparts were at an all-time low.
“There is respect there, but the relationship is probably at the lowest point in its history,” he said.
Neighbors typically pride themselves on upholding the rugby union spirit of having fierce rivalry on the field, and then setting aside any differences once the final whistle sounds.
But the intense financial pressures that the Covid-19 pandemic has created on an already cash-strapped sport has opened deep divisions over the scheduling of the Rugby Championship and the future of Southern Hemisphere Super Rugby club competition.
The result has been boycott threats, accusations of misrepresentation and a steady stream of gunfire from both sides of the Tasman Sea.
Wellington’s test was in danger of failing when Australia’s coach Dave Rennie complained that New Zealand’s strict border controls would prevent his team from training together, leaving them ill-prepared to face the All Blacks.
“Under those quarantine arrangements, I can assure you that we will not play a test that weekend,” he said, prompting Wellington officials to back off and loosen the rules.
The New Zealanders were eager to host Bledisloe’s two-round series after losing the rights to host the next Rugby Championship against Australia, another sore point in trans-Tasman relations.
Initially, New Zealand was told that it would host the four-nation tournament, which also includes South Africa and Argentina, only for the governing body SANZAAR to relocate to Australia because the quarantine rules there were more relaxed.
Sanzaar and the Australians further enraged New Zealand by scheduling their Final Test for December 12, meaning players face the prospect of spending Christmas in isolation under New Zealand’s two-week quarantine requirements.
“I had a player who broke into my door and said ‘I won’t be playing on Christmas,'” revealed New Zealand coach Ian Foster.
The Australians responded that if the Kiwis had been hosts, they would have forced the Wallabies into Christmas isolation, and claimed that New Zealand Rugby had signed a schedule that included the December 12 test.
New Zealand Rugby denied both allegations, saying it had been “caught off guard”, and has not ruled out boycotting the final Rugby Championship match.
“We challenge those who have commented on the integrity of NZR, we defend our position and we stand firm on it,” said NZR President Brent Impey, insisting that New Zealand never agreed to conduct a test on the disputed date.
The scheduling dispute can probably be resolved if those involved are willing to put bruised egos and compromise aside, but Super Rugby represents a deeper divide with far-reaching implications for the future of the game in the southern hemisphere.
The club competition, which was suspended due to the pandemic, forcing Australia and New Zealand to run national versions, has long been recognized as unwieldy, expensive to manage and confusing for fans.
Not only did New Zealand’s proposed replacement eliminate teams from South Africa and Argentina, it only had room for two to four of Australia’s five teams due to lack of depth from the players.
Rugby Australia argued that all its teams should be included and accused New Zealand Rugby of arrogance, a perception reinforced when Foster said the competition had no room for weak links.
As it stands, New Zealand and Australia will continue to operate separate national Super Rugby competitions in 2021, although plans remain fluid in such uncertain times.
Whatever happens, the on-field battle between the All Blacks and Wallabies at Wellington Regional Stadium on Sunday may have a hard time matching the off-field fireworks.
