As New Zealand Rugby called an emergency meeting with under-fire All Blacks coach,Ian Foster,RA was boosted by comments from Stan Sport and Forrest,whose company Tattarang funds the Western Force,encouraging it to do what’s right for the game in Australia.
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RA and NZR are renegotiating their agreement to play in Super Rugby together beyond next season,with Australia. As it stands,Sky pays NZR $89 million and Nine,the owner of Stan,pays RA $33 million per year.
New Zealand authorities have so far taken a sceptical view of Australia’s posturing,but it appears RA chairman Hamish McLennan has been marshalling support,with RA’s broadcast partner and Forrest both lining up behind his position.
“I always carry the oranges out for Australia so I completely support it,” Forrest said. “I had a very good experience with Global Rapid Rugby where we had other teams included when we looked north into Asia. We were able to have rule changes,so that made the game faster and more entertaining and a lot less stop-start,with more time in play. So I’m not concerned that it doesn’t have a lot of options if it decided to go it alone.”
Andrew Forrest flew the flag for WA Rugby when he helped launch Rapid Rugby in 2018.Supplied.
Stan Sport boss Ben Kimber also backed Australia’s willingness to canvas a domestic competition with,for example,two teams from the nursery states NSW and Queensland.
The concept was met with,with many seeing value in Australian clubs playing their New Zealand rivals in Super Rugby.
But Kimber said Stan Sport valued innovation and was prepared to look at anything RA thought merited attention. Rugby has been a strong performer for Stan and its parent company Nine,which broadcast a Saturday night game live on free-to-air. The recent England Test series was also a strong performer for Nine,with Saturday’s decider topping the night in the non-news offerings.
“We’ve shown over the last 18 months or so that we’ve got a fantastic,innovative partnership with Rugby Australia,and we’re constantly working with them to drive further growth for the game,” Kimber said.
“So we’re happy to sit down and consider any strategic options Rugby Australia develop to continue the upward trend we’re already seeing in the game here. ”
James O’Connor is swamped by teammates after scoring late to seal the title for the Reds in Super Rugby AU in 2021.Getty
McLennan has framed his bombshell move as due diligence ahead of a likely private equity deal,telling Fox Sports last month:“The RA Board doesn’t want to prejudice the PE/debt process with any competitions presented as a fait accompli. Some board members have strong opinions that a domestic only competition like the AFL and NRL would generate more money for the game and that is fair comment.”
Australia will host a British and Irish Lions tour in 2025,then the men’s Rugby World Cup in 2027 and the women’s tournament in 2029. McLennan feels Australia’s commercial outlook is strong and gives RA some leverage with their trans-Tasman partners,despite bringing a much smaller sum to the table and no domestic third tier competition.
Forrest said he recognised the high performance and cultural contribution of New Zealand rugby to the 25-year-old Super Rugby competition,but thought Australia was right to stand up for its commercial interests.
“It’s common sense,” he said. “New Zealand is the best sporting team in the history of the game and there’s no question that part of that is the natural loyalty and spirit and talent that comes from there. But also a chunk of that is money and they’ve been able to invest in their game and their fans. Australia has to have the same opportunity if it is to really grow on an equal footing.
“I’m a person who relies on fairness in any business judgment I make and I’m also a person who loves New Zealand,but I run the oranges out for Australia.”
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