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Standing firm Southern Hemisphere would oppose June World Cup
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- Australian Rugby Union chief John O'Neill said Wednesday that any plans England and France have to shift the timing of the 2007 World Cup to improve their hopes of winning have little chance of succeeding. England and France are the only countries to show an interest in bidding to host the 2007 Cup but are reported to be planning to move it from the fixed date of October-November to June-July. O'Neill said Southern Hemisphere powers Australia, New Zealand and South Africa would be reluctant to agree to a shift which would have to be ratified by the International Rugby Board. "The IRB made a policy decision about two years ago that the World Cup would be held at the same time of year whether it was in the Northern Hemisphere or Southern Hemisphere and that time was October-November," O'Neill said. "If France and England are trying to change it, it requires a policy change from IRB. I'd be surprised if the SANZAR unions agree to it and therefore it won't get up. "I suspect that they think they'd be at a competitive disadvantage if it's in October-November and the timing would suit them better earlier in the year." O'Neill admitted the later dates were much better for Australia which won the 1999 World Cup in Wales after a solid preparation from the Super 12 series, tours and the Tri-Nations, while the northern unions had little buildup other than training. Wallaby coach Rod Macqueen agreed a June-July World Cup would not suit Australia, but said the debate highlighted the need for a global schedule in which the Northern and Southern Hemisphere seasons run concurrently. "Under the current situation, it wouldn't be ideal because there'd be no preparation coming straight from Super 12," Macqueen said. "I'm a great believer in getting a world schedule and 2007 is a long way off so hopefully by then, sanity will prevail and there'll be some compromise without this `us and them' mentality but we'll have a world approach." O'Neill said it was time to break the cycle of rotating the World Cup between Britain and France and Australasia with South Africa thrown in between. "There may be the time, not too far away, that the World Cup might go to Japan or the U.S. or Argentina, even as early as 2011," he said. Meanwhile, O'Neill and IRB chief Vernon Pugh will meet with Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer and Sports Minister Jackie Kelly next month to discuss the IRB's concerns over the 2003 World Cup in Australia. The IRB sent a letter to the federal government last week expressing its concern over the status of the tournament after a sevens tournament in Brisbane this month was canceled when Australian sanctions prevented Fiji from entering the country.
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