Rugby cries foul as EPL games move in

The appearance of a Manchester United exhibition match at Optus Stadium may have dampened demand for Wallabies tickets.

Wallabies legend Phil Kearns has turned his anger on New Zealand rugby. Picture: Jane Dempster

A company owned by a World Rugby executive council member is promoting the appearance of a Manchester United exhibition match at Optus Stadium next month, a move Australian rugby insiders fear has dampened demand for tickets for the Wallabies versus England clash in Perth.

The World Rugby executive council member in question is a New Zealander, Bart Campbell, a point that has grated with some inside Rugby Australia who are trying to steer the game out of the red.

The former Melbourne Storm chair turned New Zealand Rugby board member – who was anointed as that federation’s member on the World Rugby Executive council two years ago – is also a partner at sports marketing agency Left Field Live.

Left Field Live – along with VenuesLive, VenuesWest, TEG Live owned by Silver Lake – in partnership with TourismWA is promoting the group of A-list English Premier League clubs, including Manchester United, Leeds United, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace, who will play over two days for Perth’s International Festival of Football on July 22-23.

The involvement of Campbell’s company in the Perth soccer exhibition is sure to raise tensions between RA and NZR at a time of significant friction in the relationship.

The Red Devils’ clash against Aston Villa on July 23 has already sold out. A West Australian government source told The Australian the Leeds United-Crystal Palace match was also “selling well”. In contrast, the Wallabies-England game at Optus Stadium on July 2 is well short of a sellout.

Campbell told The Australian there was absolutely “no conflict of interest” and wished the best to Rugby Australia for its Test series.

“There is no conflict of interest,” Campbell said.

“Left Field Live works in the business of sport, excluding rugby. As such, there is no conflict between my job and my board positions. I wish Rugby Australia well for their hugely exciting Test series against England, which will take place contemporaneously against the backdrop of a busy national and international sports calendar across all states, including State of Origin, AFL, NRL and football.”

A sources close to the soccer event asked: “Who was responsible for the venue selection by Rugby Australia for moving the event to Perth, when scheduled initially in another city?

“Ultimately, the strength of the rugby offering will determine market demand. Fundamentally, other sports will continue to be on display, from State of Origin, AFL in Perth, across this period and it’s unfair and inaccurate to suggest in any way that football is to rugby’s detriment.

“Even if Rugby Australia wanted all other sports across Australia to stop when their content was scheduled, this was simply not going to happen. Australia remains a highly competitive market and each sport needs to find its own path through.”

The relationship between the Australian and New Zealand rugby fraternity has been at a low ebb for some time. “Arrogant” is a word Australian rugby executive and former Wallabies captain Phil Kearns used to describe the recent conduct of NZR officials – not specifying Campbell.

“New Zealand have every right to be arrogant about their performance on the field – and it’s generally not the players that have that arrogance, but it’s their officials,” he said.

There is an undercurrent of resentment in Australian rugby circles at the perceived lack of respect shown by its trans-Tasman rival – with Campbell’s soccer promotion now only feeding the ill-will.

Rugby Australia chair Hamish McLennan last week said Australia could walk away from the Super Rugby Pacific, stating “all bets were off” after its two-year-contract – a term New Zealand had insisted upon, while Australia wanted a longer deal. McLennan said it made sense to have all of Australia’s best talent playing in front of local crowds in the lead-up to the 2027 home World Cup.

McLennan’s revelation rattled those at the top of NZR.

The Australian can also reveal NZR’s freshly inked $180m private equity deal with Silver Lake is understood to have banked on the country remaining part of the trans-Tasman competition, a scenario now in jeopardy. TEG Live is owned by Silver Lake.

There have been rumblings for some time regarding the conduct of New Zealand Rugby.

Relations soured when former NZR chairman Brent Impey cast aside South Africa and Argentina from Super Rugby following the onset of Covid-19. It’s understood both South Africa and Argentina still harbour bad blood towards New Zealand, opening the door for the Springboks to potentially leave the Rugby Championship and join Europe’s Six Nations competition.

Then NZR told RA it only wanted two Australian sides to participate in Super Rugby. Finally, there was New Zealand’s decision to delay the third Bledisloe Cup game in Perth last year, which has left deep wounds and cost RA money.

Again, Kearns does not mince words about Australia’s treatment.

“The other day a former Wallabies coach remarked to me how disgracefully duplicitous some of these guys from New Zealand had been over the last 10 to 15 years … and how the arrogance had really overreached into decision-making,” Kearns said.

“And you know, to his point, they’ve failed to see the long-term impact of the way they’ve treated Australia as an alleged partner. It has been pretty poor. There’s the way they behaved regarding the Test matches last year in Perth.

“I know maybe we weren’t in a position to play hardball, but we haven’t done that to them, no way.

“It’s no secret that Australian rugby been struggling for the last 15 to 20 years, and NZ rugby has clearly taken advantage of that weakness. It’s great to see the leadership of Australian rugby now standing up (for) itself as the global environment changes.

“We are not going to be subordinate to New Zealand because we have to do what is right for Australian rugby.”

In a post-Covid world, the game has evolved and, while Australia considered giving the Kiwis a chance to host a 2027 pool match, after doing the sums it realised it could cost it $200m-plus in revenue.

“Not only does the World Cup provide a windfall for World Rugby, it provides a windfall for the country that hosts, as we’re likely to see in Australia … and New Zealand won’t have the benefit of that, which in the long term could be very detrimental to their future,” Kearns said.

“So if I was New Zealand, I’d be looking for good, trustworthy partners to help guide the success of the game in Australasia.”

Kearns says it won’t be easy for Australia to forget the way the country treated it last year.

“I think probably, luckily for New Zealand, the Australian players’ memories will be short,” Kearns said.

“But certainly the officials that were involved, particularly the board of Australian rugby, their memories cannot be erased.”