Off the ball: A fair kick in the backside

The NZ union's arrogance is only outweighed by its ineptitude, writes RICHARD BOOCK.

Well, someone had to do it.

It might not sit comfortably when the IRB's boot is so freshly imprinted on its backside, but the New Zealand Rugby Union was finally brought kicking and screaming into the real world on Thursday, learning - as if by surprise - that the planet was no longer flat and that Edward VIII had abdicated the throne.

It was a nasty and predictably painful exercise which left the union empty-handed in terms of its World Cup co-host hopes and red-handed in terms of its culpability - although the chances of it admitting this are probably slimmer than its chances of being named Administrator of the Year.

As far as its strategy went, the sporting organisation which claims to be the country's most powerful appeared to go in with a bluff and bluster routine last seen around the Jurassic Age, and it would not have been a complete surprise if David Rutherford and Murray McCaw turned up at the meeting wearing Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble outfits.

Never mind that they had the smallest amount of commercial clout and the weakest fiscal case, our men in black dithered over the fine-print and then threw their ink-pots at the Australians and the IRB, alienating the support base they so critically needed this week.

What did they expect?

That their insulted friends, wooed by promises of 40,000-seat stadiums and a New Zealand dollar which is worth marginally more than a Soviet rouble, would suddenly forget all the angst and jump at the chance to welcome them back?

As plans go, it was not so much a blunder as a series of blunders which led to the venerable organ losing its cup, although if there was one pivotal stage, it was undoubtedly when NZRFU officials began bad-mouthing their IRB and Australian counter-parts.

Without the commercial strength to be an influence, it seemed patently obvious New Zealand's most viable path was the diplomatic one, the tactic of getting on side with as many IRB partners as possible and - through sacrifice and endeavour - enlisting their wholesale support.

New Zealand Cricket has for many decades played second fiddle to the NZRFU in terms of administrative and financial strength, but it is interesting to note that it now has a much higher standing in world cricket affairs, and is respected for its mediation and diplomacy, not to mention organisational ability.

As an example, following the success of the recent Under-19 World Cricket Cup, the International Cricket Council immediately installed New Zealand as the back-up host for next year's full World Cup tournament, demonstrating massive faith in its logistical and administrative infrastructure.

In comparison, the NZRFU comes across as an arrogant, self-centred organisation which has for too long acted only in its own interests and, in this case, has demonstrated its bone-headedness beyond a shadow of a doubt.

For too long it has ignored the wants and needs of those close at hand, and its neglect of the Pacific region is just one example of its superiority complex and disdain for the growth of the game.

With that in mind, why shouldn't the IRB ensure the best possible financial return from the World Cup tournament, if only to make enough money to assist those smaller rugby-playing nations who might not have sufficient means to help themselves? It's not as if the NZRFU was planning to help.

Now we can sit back and wait for the usual gobbledegook to come out of its malfunctioning, Keystone Kops-like public relations department, where reason and logic are often buried by a desperate pile of excuses.

Whatever the NZRFU says, there is a strong school of thought that it got what it deserved - a heavy reminder that the world actually revolves around the sun.