Australia-NZ need to sort out their problems, says Michael Lynagh

Michael Lynagh can understand both sides of the Tasman conflict but believes Australia and New Zealand need to sort out their problems.

Michael Lynagh: ‘There is a great rivalry there but, because of the geography of the two countries it’s important that they work together and I think they both realise that.’

London-based former Wallabies captain Michael Lynagh can understand both sides of the Tasman conflict but believes Australia and New Zealand need to sort out their current rugby problems because they need each other.

NZ Rugby certainly put noses out of joint – and not just in Australia – when they announced details of their proposed trans-Tasman competition, limiting Australia to between two and four franchises. Suddenly, the Australian teams were being asked to respond to “expressions of interest” if they wanted a place in the planned 2021 series.

Rugby Australia responded by insisting that five Australian teams would take part in the competition or none of them would. And just to ratchet up tension even more, they effectively imposed a deadline of September 4 for NZ to respond to its ultimatum.

“I do understand both sides,” Lynagh told The Weekend Australian on Friday. “I understand the Kiwis want strong competition et cetera, but we’ve been down that road before with the (culling of) the Western Force and we don’t necessarily want to go that way again.

“So hopefully negotiations can sort themselves out and we can get a decent competition between the two countries. I think both of them need each other. There is a great rivalry there but, because of the geography of the two countries it’s important that they work together and I think they both realise that.

“Also, going up into Asia is an important time-zone area for both New Zealand and Australia and I think they both want to do that and they are better off doing it together. Hopefully it will work out.”

Lynagh believes that building on the impressive legacy of the first Asian nation to host a World Cup, Japan in 2019, should become an important plank of Australia’s campaign for the 2027 tournament.

“That’s something that is reasonably important to Australia’s bid, with Japan, the market there that was actually exposed to rugby and how well it did (with $7.852 billion attributed to the World Cup). Maybe World Rugby would want to capitalise on that and keep it going.”

Lynagh initially was one of the 10 Wallabies captains who signed the letter that was critical of the Raelene Castle-led Rugby Australia but quickly withdrew his support.

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He does, however, believe that under Hamish McLennan, the game is coming through the crisis.

“I think he has been going very well,” Lynagh said. “He hasn’t let the grass grow under his feet. He is a serious person, when you look at what he has done in his career and he has a lot of experience in areas that are important to rugby. He has pointed the ship in the right direction.

“And when you look at the 2025 British and Irish Lions tour and the RWC of 2027, they are two very bankable events. It is going to be getting through the next two to three years that will be the tough bit.

“Rugby is going through a tough stage at the moment, a really tough stage. But there are some good young players coming through. There is optimism around those young guys and hopefully Dave Rennie and his coaching team will do a good job this year.

“Hopefully the Waratahs’ victory against the Reds last weekend is not a one-off and they start to rebuild from there and the young players do come through and start to be competitive again.”