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Deadline extended New Zealand World Cup dispute to be settled by FridayPosted: Wednesday March 06, 2002 7:49 AMSYDNEY (Reuters) -- New Zealand has been given a new deadline of Friday to settle a dispute that could result in it losing the right to co-host the 2003 World Cup with Australia. The Australian Rugby Union (ARU) said on Wednesday it had given their New Zealand counterparts another two days after New Zealand officials asked world governing body the International Rugby Board (IRB) for more time. The New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU) is in dispute with the IRB and Australia over its plan to go ahead with their domestic provincial championship, a big revenue earner which overlaps with the World Cup's early stages. They are yet to sign the Rugby World Cup (RWC) Sub Host Agreement with the ARU, sparking speculation that Australia might end up hosting all World Cup matches next year. "The International Rugby Board received a special plea from the NZRFU requesting additional time to respond to IRB concerns over the timing of the National Provincial Championship (NPC) and also finalising the Sub Host Agreement with Australia," the ARU said in a statement issued Wednesday following a day of meetings. The ARU said it had set a new deadline of 5pm New Zealand time (0400 GMT) Friday, adding it would not comment further until the deadline had passed. The ARU had hoped to have the matter settled by Tuesday but raised concerns over the uncertain future of co-hosting plans when it heard nothing from the NZRFU. An ARU spokesman said world champions Australia could end up hosting all 48 matches instead of the split of 25 in Australia and 23 in New Zealand as originally proposed. Suggested compromise RWC organizers have suggested a compromise that would allow the NPC semifinals and finals to be played during the World Cup -- an overlap of 10 days -- provided the matches were not played at World Cup venues. NZRFU chief executive David Rutherford said his union would not consider sacrificing the provincial championship. "The NPC in any one year will make more money than New Zealand rugby can contemplate making from holding the Rugby World Cup," he told New Zealand's Radio Sport. "So the decision from a rugby perspective and a monetary perspective is very simple...We're trying to make sure we understand all the terms and conditions of the 10-day overlap and that's one of the discussion points still going on," he said. A NZRFU source told Reuters they expected to make NZ$20 million (US$8.6 million) from gate receipts and sponsorship from the NPC compared with a gate revenue of between NZ$4-5 million from the World Cup. Postponed launch Vernon Pugh, IRB and Rugby World Cup chairman, said Tuesday that the IRB regrettably had no choice but to postpone the planned launch of the World Cup in Sydney next week because of the dispute. Pugh said it would have been inappropriate to go ahead with the launch because the IRB needed to be able to announce "with certainty" the full details of the World Cup schedule. Australian rugby boss John O'Neill last month blasted what he described as a "treacherous" decision by New Zealand to block his plans for a fourth Australian team in the Super 12 competition. But Rutherford said the current dispute was between New Zealand and the IRB. "The Australians are able to lob the odd grenade and perhaps
enjoy that, but they're not the party that we are fundamentally
in debate with," he said.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
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