Rugby Championship choice for players: Test match or Christmas Day

Players face wage cuts if The Rugby Championship is not played in full, as the other nations turn on Rugby Australia.

The timing of the final Rugby Championship game has caused a problem between Australia and New Zealand.

Players face wage cuts if The Rugby Championship is not played in full, leaving the possibility open that they may need to choose between money or spending Christmas Day with their families.

All SANZAAR partners are silently hoping that quarantine restrictions will have eased by December to allow the All Blacks, South Africa and Argentina players to return home after playing on December 12, and not face 14 days of hotel isolation.

There are no guarantees, given the nature of the coronavirus and potential for another wave of cases in any of these countries, leading the Kiwis to claim Rugby Australia backflipped on an agreement to have their last game by December 6.

Watch every match of the 2020 Bledisloe Cup & Rugby Championship Live & On-Demand on Kayo. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly

The reality of rugby economics, however, is that the final quarter of broadcast payments across the board is contingent on the full schedule of games being played.

SANZAAR announced the six-week draw at 9am Thursday, and seven minutes later New Zealand Rugby issued a statement saying they had not agreed to it.

Later, the Springboks said “South Africa’s participation in the event still has to be confirmed” and “remains conditional on the relaxation of the government’s current ban on international sporting participation”.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern refused to confirm she would be willing to make an exception for returning All Blacks to have a shorter quarantine stay, instead turning the heat back on Australia.

“I think it is fair to say there was an agreement that those games would conclude by December 6 and if everyone sticks to that then there wouldn’t be an issue,” Ardern said.

Argentina have camped in Uruguay, with comparatively less cases than in their home nation, and hope they have no more COVID-19 cases in their own ranks after a number of players and staff tested positive last month.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Picture: Getty Images

So while the competition has been scheduled to start on November 7, with a double-header at Suncorp Stadium (South Africa v Argentina, Australia v New Zealand), it is the December 12 finish date that has thrown the tournament into uncertainty.

The final five rounds will be played in NSW, across Parramatta’s Bankwest Stadium, ANZ Stadium at Homebush, and McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle. It’s believed the NSW Government paid $7m to host the tournament‘

Hours after SANZAAR’s announcement of the draw, Newcastle and Brisbane had virtually sold out corporate ticket requests, while the two Sydney stadiums had 60 per cent filled.

All of the money earned will be split equally between the four nations.

It will ease the burden on Rugby Australia, whose major sponsor Qantas will pull their $5m sponsorship after this year, while no broadcast deal has been locked in for 2021.

RA rejected claims by their New Zealand counterparts that there was an agreement on the Rugby Championship draw finishing earlier.

Kiwi government and rugby officials claimed RA had given New Zealand Rugby its word that the All Blacks could play their last match of the tournament on December 5 instead of December 12, so their players would not be stuck in a 14-day mandatory hotel quarantine on Christmas Day.

RA and SANZAAR rejected that suggestion vehemently, while the Kiwis would not confirm that they would participate in the scheduled December 12 match against the Wallabies.

New Zealand’s Minister for Sport Grant Robertson said: “Rugby Australia have changed the timetable that had been agreed with New Zealand Rugby. The last game was to be on the 5th of December, now it is the 12th – that’s unfair and Australia should stick to its word.”

Robertson’s comments followed claims by NZR chief executive Mark Robinson that they had not agreed to the SANZAAR schedule released on Thursday morning, and had been told by RA they could play their last game a week earlier.

However, RA chief Rob Clarke: “For absolute clarity – on two formal occasions – Rugby Australia was supportive of altering the draw so that the Rugby Championship could be played over five weeks. On both occasions, that proposal was rejected which means there was never an agreement to finish the tournament on Saturday, December 5.”

“That being said, no one wants players and team management to be away from their families and in quarantine over Christmas. Rugby Australia will do everything in its power to help assist New Zealand Rugby and the team in finding a reasonable resolution, and in urging them to exhaust every possible alternative.

“There are still more than two months to go before December 12 so we have plenty of time to find a solution.”

The Daily Telegraph