New Zealand Rugby unhappy as SANZAAR releases 2020 Rugby Championship draw

Or how many times were the Wallabies allowed to host the first Bledisloe test since 2012? That's right, every year! Yeah, the NZR pulls all the strings apparently. So much of nonsense is spouted on here.

That's rubbish. RA doesn't solely have the ability to determine the finishing date of the comp, therefore RA can't "assure" NZ of anything in regards to the comp as that's a SANZAAR issue, which everybody gets a say on.

I’m sure a lot of the guys would be ok. But some of the guys are first time Dads, that’s really the only part I think is rough. As long as they have the option to go or stay I think it’s fine. It’s just one more thing that 2020 has to answer for.

Yeah fair enough that the All Blacks would normally be home for Christmas, I was just offering an example of another professional sports team that spends Christmas abroad every year and seems to deal with it ok.

As an English cricketer, knowing cricket is a summer sport and Christmas is in the Summer in Australia they should kind of expect to be away. Normally, even touring SH rugby teams in the NH are not away for Christmas.

in the northern hemisphere Christmas is in winter. What does a summer sport have to do with anything? The topic is about being away from your family at Christmas....and for a Northern hemisphere cricket team it means missing Christmas when they tour the Southern Hemisphere.

Paulo, I was just trying to understand how Jacko could state that "NOT ONE TT comp plan ever came out of NZ" He executes a bit of semantic gymnastics to get there but I understand where he is coming from. My undies are riding fine.

Cricket being a summer sport, you kinda expect that as a player. The comparison to a winter sport isn’t really apt.

I don’t always agree with Jacko, but I kinda do on this one. A TT comp absolutely fundamentally requires both NZ and Aus; the comp NZ proposed doesn’t require Aus participation, albeit it would be easier with them in. It’s a little pedantic, but the nuance is important. This was an NZRFU run competition that it invited Aus teams to play in. Everyone got up in arms about it partly because they saw it as a TT comp with NZ dictating terms. It was poorly handled, don’t get me wrong, but if people stopped thinking of it as a TT, maybe their knickers would unbunch.

Sorry Joe, I fail to see what you've added other than illustrate the dismal quality of the Heralds editing. That was exactly the article I was referring to when I mentioned Rennie's reference to AR hypocrisy. The AR had secured NZR's commitment to getting the Wallabies home by Christmas, a reciprocal deal AR reneged on. That's all Rennie is referring to. What is surprising though is this. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/rugby/news/article.cfm?c_id=80&objectid=12368872 where Foster states directly that SANZAAR, and by extension the AR, had committed themsleves to ending the RC by 06/12/2020, which directly contradicts what current AR CEO Clarke has said and could be future AR CEO Marinos has said. "There was a deal based on [December] 5th we feel Sanzaar has reneged on that so we've put some solutions forward and we're waiting on that. We have to fix it," Foster said. That was something that I'd discounted, because even I didn't think the AR would be stupid/dishonest enough to renege on a specific deal. Maybe I'm wrong. As Australians you'd have to be worried about the recklessness of the AR in relation to the All Blacks. NZR is extremely protective about the AB's. They are after all the basis of their entire commercial programme. Whatever criticism you can direct at NZR, they have in fact done a brilliant job keeping the top players in the country. Player welfare has been absolutely fundamental to that. Where those players have gone, with very few exceptions, its when those players are past their best. NZR have certainly done a radically better job in that regard than the AR. So for AR to display such carelessness and recklessness about the All Blacks, the most prized possession of their most important partner, tells me the AR have learnt precisely nothing from their last two decades of failure.

Oh dear. Look here's another one: "Rennie says the Wallabies would have tried the same tactics if the competition had been held in New Zealand. "It would be hypocritical of us to not support New Zealand now when we thought it was a good idea. I know Australia did support them but the decision but be unanimous amongst the group," Rennie said. (https://www.nzherald.co.nz/rugby/news/article.cfm?c_id=80&objectid=12368371) "Rennie says the Wallabies would have *would have*"! *would have*. RA did try when it was set to be staged in NZ, and NZR had the same response as RA now! As I said, This reporting is almost as bad as some Oz papers. I hope NZ fans don't swallow it without thinking critically. That would make them as silly as some of us.

You may need to broaden the sources you read from.

So with the NZ PM publicly vetoing the idiotic idea of changing NZ's quarantine conditions to suit the All Blacks, and AR still not coming with a solution for the premier team of the organisation its future depends on, NZR, and their coach publicly telling them not to be hypocrites about ensuring the All Blacks are home by Christmas, you have to wonder at what the AR do come up with a solution to the problem they've manufactured for themselves. Stuck in their bunker, it must have seemed like such a clever idea at the time. Renege on their agreement with NZR, get SANZAAR head and maybe future AR CEO Andy Marinos to ride shotgun for them, stick one up that arrogant little brother with ideas above his station, and place NZR in a situation where if a solution is found NZR will be expected to be grateful for it. But now they just look like poor hosts and incompetent organisers, their coach is having to play peacemaker for them because they lack the strength to do it themselves, in the same way the equally incompetent NZR have used Foster to backtrack on their idiotic attempt to takeover Australian domestic rugby, and an organisation which is near bankrupt financially is looking intellectually bankrupt as well. Again. I really do hope the NZR take all this into consideration when looking at the future of its own game. A covid vaccine is almost certainly 6/9 months away, there is no guarantee that will return us to pre covid world, and anyway why would you place any faith in a business partner like AR which has proven over the last two decades to be functionally incompetent, hopelessly disloyal and now thoroughly dishonest.

Spot on. You only have to mention Underarms or Carossa’s nose ( on-field ) to understand how these incidents and many others, get locked in the memory for a long long time. Yes in lots of ways we definately need each other but the relationship is pretty toxic at the moment and a bunch of people sitting opposite each other in a board room feeling angry towards each other isnt going to achieve much so move apart for 2 years and see where we are from there…

Why is this still a thing? After two sold out games in NZ, the bled locked up for the year, and probably after round five the RC, NZ just forfeit Game 6 to Aus and come home. Aus get a win, the ABs get home for Christmas Everybody wins.

I do agree up to the point where it is remembered 'off the field for years to come'. I think anti Aus/NZ sentiment in admins either side of the ditch will only ensure clashes to continue, we're a lot more alike than China and the US and the evolving nature of the rugby world means whether we like it or not geography dictates we need to work together more in the future.

Two things. When I was younger my friends used to celebrate Christmas as a family on Boxing Day and then the children and parents could all deliver on commitments with their spouses families on Christmas day. Australian Cricket has a Boxing Day test. that means the touring team by definition is in Australia for their Christmas. Suck it up boys, you aren’t the first people to have to move something around. At least you won’t be working Christmas Day like so many people in Australia have to. Having said that, there needs to be a bit of pragmatism here. Why not play NZ V Australia on the last Friday (i.e. short break) instead of Saturday so that the Kiwis can be out of quarantine on Christmas day. if both teams are happy to do that then why does SANZAR care? I think everyone is being a bit silly on this one. And if I hear some twit use the “mental health” card on this………..

Wait a minute...didn't the NZ government find a way to compromise for the wallabies to train together after Rennie's comments, despite their previous rules they put in place? But they can't compromise to get their own citizens home for christmas????! :shocked:

So if the RC falls within the WR regulation 9 window then please do tell us what other solution you are looking for that can see your precious entitled ABs home for Christmas.

He's a kiwi so can