MPs to jet to Parliamentary Rugby World Cup

Winston Peters will head over for the tournament. Photo / Stephen Parker

MPs will be jetting to the United Kingdom to take part in the Parliamentary Rugby World Cup after being granted special leave.

The team will take part in a tournament from September 10 to 23 - dates which overlap with the start of the real tournament.

Politicians going include Corrections Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga - who is currently under pressure over the issue of alleged violence in prisons - and New Zealand First MP Winston Peters, who turned 70 this year.

New Zealand are four times champions in the tournament, which happens prior to each Rugby World Cup.

It is understood the upcoming trip is funded through sponsorship, including from Air New Zealand. Players will also be dipping into their own pockets - when asked how the trip was funded, Labour MP Damien O'Connor said: "my bank account".

Mr Peters said he would be handling the team's PR as media manager and he would not be playing - "I hope they are not going to be that desperate".

He said there was some sponsorship but members were also paying for the trip, and many would tack on political business while in the United Kingdom.

Some team members were considering attending the real Rugby World Cup, but he was not yet sure if he would catch any games.

The team recently played in Warkworth and was the fittest it had been for many years, Mr Peters said. He nominated South Africa, Australia and England as teams to be wary of, as well as ensuring there weren't "a lot of ring-ins".

The team members will be regarded as being present within the parliamentary precincts over the course of the tournament, a determination of the business committee released today states.

This year the team is made up of a core of Parliamentary staff and family, with nine MPs from different political parties, bar the Greens.

Parties have restrictions on how many MPs can be on leave from Parliament at any one time, but the rugby players will not count towards these limits.

Other players include Labour's Kelvin Davis, Peeni Henare, Stuart Nash, Mr O'Connor, and National's Paul Goldsmith, Mark Mitchell and Alfred Ngaro.

Team members will need to put aside working disputes if they have a shot at glory.

Mr Lotu-Iiga angrily told Mr Davis during question time yesterday to "put up or shut up" over allegations about what the minister knew regarding so-called "fight clubs" in Serco-run Mt Eden prison.

Mr Peters told the Herald that such matters would be set aside for the tournament, as the players were representing New Zealand.

At the last World Cup, New Zealand crushed Argentina "about 40-nil" in the final. The Parliamentary Rugby World Cup was established in 1995, which a New Zealand team featuring Bill English, Murray McCully, Mr O'Connor and Trevor Mallard won.

Parliamentary Rugby World Cup

• Runs prior to the real Rugby World Cup every four years, in the same host country. This year will be held in England from September 10 to 23.

• Teams are 15-a-side and are made up of a core of Parliamentary staff and family. New Zealand's World Cup team has nine MPs, including non-playing media manager Winston Peters.

• Competing Parliaments are New Zealand, Argentina, Australia, France, Ireland, Japan, Scotland, South Africa, the United Kingdom and Wales.

• Two days of matches will be played at Richmond Rugby Club, located near Twickenham in south west London and formed in 1871.

• Another day of matches will be held in Rugby, with a reception and a tour of the school where the game was born. There are two rest days between matches.