The sad story of the crumbling relationship between NZ Rugby and Rugby Australia

When Rugby Australia President Hamish McLennan said this week that the relationship between his organization and NZ Rugby was at a “low point”, he picked up a sore that showed no signs of healing.

NZR and RA may not always have been the best companions, but in the past they have generally retained their dignity and fought behind closed doors.

No longer. Although NZR CEO Mark Robinson dismissed McLennan’s comment that the relationship was in bad shape as a “strategy,” the once-seemed strong bond has started to deteriorate at an alarming rate since Covid-19. turned the world upside down.

Now look what we have. Trans-Tasmanian neighbors are arguing like a pair of inmates who have been in the same cell for too long. It is not flash.

READ MORE:
* ‘The schedule is not our fault’: Rugby Australia is not responsible for the All Blacks missing Christmas
* The All Blacks were forced to miss Christmas with their families while playing in the Rugby Championship
* Grant Robertson watches the exhausted Bledisloe Cup, will not block the All Blacks test on Election Night

So how did it come to this? The following timeline follows the path to a breakdown of trust and respect among rugby’s neighbors.

MARCH

• Super Rugby is closed due to Covid-19. No one knows at the time, but the competition will not return in the same format. The world crashes.

JUNE

• NZR is the first country in the world to restart a professional sports competition after the lockdown. The Highlanders face the Chiefs in the opening match of Super Rugby Aotearoa in Dunedin on June 13.

JULY

• NZR presents the Aratipu Report, a review of New Zealand’s Super Rugby model. He is not interested in inviting the 5 Australian teams to a new competition. Instead, you want a team structure of 8 or 10.
• An 8-team format would mean that only 2 Australian teams are required if the 5 New Zealand teams and a new Pasifika entry are included (now on ice until 2022 minimum).

• Robinson says there is a “great desire” to involve a Pasifika team and that he would approach RA to seek “expressions of interest” from his Super Rugby clubs.
• A disgruntled RA tells NZR what it can do with their proposal and declares that their teams will not present any “expressions of interest.” “If they send it, I won’t open it,” says McLennan. He also likens the NZR-UK relationship to a “master-servant” dynamic.
• The Australians say their alternative plan is to organize a competition involving all five of their teams, with others from Japan, Fiji and Argentina.

• Meanwhile, South Africa Rugby boss Jurie Roux expresses his displeasure after NZ Rugby says they want to eliminate Republic teams.
• Former All Blacks coach Sir Steve Hansen urges NZR to stand firm. RA has “disappeared” in the past, he says. NZR must stand firm and take care of number one.
• Sanzaar names New Zealand as the preferred host for the Rugby Championship, which is expected to take place in November and December.

AUGUST

• The Crusaders are the SRA winners after two rounds. No final is played.

SEPTEMBER

• New Zealand loses the rights to host the Rugby Championship.
• In a surprising turn of events, Sanzaar says Australia’s offer is superior and cites the New Zealand government’s strict quarantine protocols as a key factor in his change of mind.
• Quarantine rules prevent teams from Argentina, South Africa and Australia from training together during the 14-day isolation period.

• Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says there is more to this story, referring to “politics” within Sanzaar. NZ Rugby President Brent Impey and Robinson deny it.
• New Wallabies coach Dave Rennie says his team will boycott the first round of the Bledisloe Cup in New Zealand unless quarantine rules are relaxed.
• Rennie says it’s unrealistic to expect the Wallabies to play Bledisloe I (later revealed to be in Wellington on October 11) without being allowed to train properly while quarantined.
• The New Zealand government comes to the party relaxing the rules, allowing the Wallabies to train after three days in quarantine in Christchurch.

• NZ Rugby reacts angrily when Sanzaar reveals the Rugby Championship draw, which states that the All Blacks must play Australia in Brisbane on December 12. This means that the All Blacks will still be in quarantine on Christmas Day. NZ Rugby says it has been misled and never agreed to play on that date. Sanzaar and RA discuss this. NZ Rugby understood that the last All Blacks game would be on December 5.
• Robinson refuses to rule out that the All Blacks will not play that final test if the date is not advanced.
• All Blacks coach Ian Foster says they are “bitterly disappointed” that the date has been changed: “It has to be fixed.” He refuses to bite when asked if the All Blacks would refuse to play if Sanzaar doesn’t alter the schedule. .

• McLennan says the relationship between RA and NZR has reached an all-time low, but Robinson rejects this: “I think it’s a bit boastful, to be honest … We don’t operate like that.”
• McLennan also says that he has seen the Sanzaar minutes that prove NZR knew about the December 12 date.
• South Africa confirms their days in Super Rugby are numbered by stating that they want four teams to join the Pro Rugby Championship in the Northern Hemisphere.
• CEO Jurie Roux blames NZR for ending their Super Rugby days.
• The Sydney Morning Herald and Newshub report that they have seen Sanzaar’s minutes, which note that NZR agreed to play the last game on December 12.