IRB increases RWC compensation for competing nations.. JON very happy

[TOCC]

THE Australian Rugby Union will reap a windfall of at least $12 million and as much as $17.5 million every four years after a breakthrough IRB ruling that will result in international rugby's governing body giving countries a bigger slice of the World Cup pie.
The funding move will benefit all tier-one and tier-two international teams on some level. It is a particularly satisfying result for ARU chief executive John O'Neill, who fought in the face of stiff opposition to have the world's top sides remunerated fairly after the ARU posted a loss upwards of $16.6 million in lost gate revenue, broadcast and sponsorship due to significantly reduced Tri-Nations, European Test and June Test series in 2011.
New Zealand famously supported O'Neill's plight in October last year, threatening to boycott the next World Cup saying they couldn't afford to compete.
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''If you had told me beforehand this was the likely outcome, I would have signed on the spot. I'm very satisfied,'' said O'Neill, who was made chairman of the IRB regulations committee.
''If we hadn't got this result, 2015 would have been unbearable [financially]. We really had to scramble last year. We did all sorts of things to reduce the original loss ($16.6 million) to $7.5 million. So personally, this is a very satisfying outcome.
It's a proper outcome. Ninety-seven per cent of the IRB's income comes from that one tournament and that one tournament wouldn't happen without the 20 countries that show up, and particularly the top five or six.''
Until this week, the ARU and other unions received $5.6 million for every four-year international cycle. But after an IRB roundtable on Tuesday, there is now a model in place that will guarantee the unions at least $12 million across the four-year cycle and an extra $16 million to be shared among the SANZAR countries and Argentina should the Rugby Championship be affected by the September 18, 2015 World Cup - which is highly likely.
That equates to a guaranteed $10.5 million increase for the ARU, with the possibility of an extra $1.6 million given that, out of the Rugby Championship conferences, Australia stands to lose more in revenue than either New Zealand or Argentina. Add to that the existing $5.6 million and the ARU stands to receive as much as $17.5 million from the IRB over the next four years.
A new-look IRB is also looking into adopting FIFA's commercial approach to the World Cup in which nations would be allowed to show sponsor signage at training grounds and on their training kits from 2015.
Presently, team sponsors are devoid from any World Cup team apparel, meaning a move to the FIFA strategy could be another financial windfall for the ARU.
Meanwhile, television referees will be given wider powers under a series of rule changes that will be implemented later this year. The amendments, announced by the IRB, will also set a 90-second limit for conversion attempts and restrict the time the ball can be held at the back of a ruck.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/union-news/oneills-fight-for-bigger-slice-of-world-cup-yields-millions-20120516-1yrch.html#ixzz1v2yGHMFL​

 

[Braveheart81]

This is a massive boost to the ARU.

I wonder if this will let them finalise an increased salary cap with the Australian Super Rugby franchises and the RUPA.

It makes sense. The top tier nations are what drives TV and other revenue at the RWC and if they are forced to miss out on playing key test series that allow them to pay their players and remain top tier rugby nations, then they need to be compensated for the RWC.

It's all well and good for money to flow to the developing nations where rugby is a fledgling sport, however there is no game to grow if the top teams are too disadvantaged.

 

[TOCC]

JON has achieved a very good result here

 

[Linebacker_41]

JON has achieved a very good result here

It pains me to say this but what this have been achieved with the NZRU threatening to pull the ABs out of the RWC??

 

[daz]

This is a massive boost to the ARU.

I wonder if this will let them finalise an increased salary cap with the Australian Super Rugby franchises and the RUPA.

Very good point. We all want grassroots and a structured pathway to be on the receiving end of any cash boost, but we also want to make sure our top players have an incentive to stay in Oz when they are in prime playing condition.

 

[Bruce Ross]

JON has achieved a very good result here

Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive,
But to be young was very heaven!--Oh! times,
In which the meagre, stale, forbidding ways
Of custom, law, and IRB, took at once
The attraction of a country in romance with noble John!

Those of us privileged to have lived through both manifestations of JO'N's sovereignty feel doubly blessed. Well may we say:

He was a man, take him for all in all,
I shall not look upon his like again.
.

 

[daz]

Well, there is a likely submission for the WB Yeats Poetry Prize (Australia), although it has been published now so that chance might be gone. Perhaps the Rysling Award? It does seem a bit science fictional....

Keep going Bruce; that Nobel Prize for Literature is a bit out of reach right now, but if you keep plugging away, who knows what the future will hold?

 

[Bruce Ross]

Well, there is a likely submission for the WB Yeats Poetry Prize (Australia), although it has been published now so that chance might be gone. Perhaps the Rysling Award? It does seem a bit science fictional....

Keep going Bruce; that Nobel Prize for Literature is a bit out of reach right now, but if you keep plugging away, who knows what the future will hold?

Fortunately the copyright for both Wordsworth's poetry and Shakespeare's plays has lapsed, daz.
.

 

[TOCC]

Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive,
But to be young was very heaven!--Oh! times,
In which the meagre, stale, forbidding ways
Of custom, law, and IRB, took at once
The attraction of a country in romance with noble John!

Those of us privileged to have lived through both manifestations of JO'N's sovereignty feel doubly blessed. Well may we say:

He was a man, take him for all in all,
I shall not look upon his like again.
.

i know most people really don't like JON and the way the game in this country, but at least this is a significant boost for the ARU and Australian Rugby.

 

[daz]

i know most people really don't like JON and the way the game in this country, but at least this is a significant boost for the ARU and Australian Rugby.

+1. All jokes aside, this is a good outcome and JON should be congratulated.

He will be applauded even more if he uses it to good effect.....that remains to be seen.

 

[Bardon]

Obviously it's good that the Tier 1 nations are getting a bigger slice of the WC pie. However I would be much happier if more Tier 1 Unions had the right people in place to put that money to good use for the betterment of the game.

 

[Bruce Ross]

I am a little bemused as to how a decision by the IRB to distribute more money to member unions can be interpreted as a personal triumph for JO'N. Did he have to arm-twist other nations to support his very clever idea?

 

[daz]

I am a little bemused as to how a decision by the IRB to distribute more money to member unions can be interpreted as a personal triumph for JO'N. Did he have to arm-twist other nations to support his very clever idea?

Well, I doubt the IRB gave the money to the member nations out of the goodness of their hearts. The National CEO's obviously put a plan together and got an outcome.

Fair to say JON wasn't the lone ranger, but he would have been one of the orphans putting his hand out and asking for more, please sir.

 

[Braveheart81]

He was the first person to make a big deal out of it at RWC time and got NZRU to support him.

Given that the RWC generally conflicts with the SANZAR test season it has a far greater financial effect on the SANZAR nations than it does on the Northern Hemisphere nations who have always had a greater control over the IRB.

 

[wolverine]

The "compromise" will reduce the chance of making loss and repeating 2011. However, SH Rugby and emerging nations are still faced with a number of negative outcomes.

should the Rugby Championship be affected by the September 18, 2015 World Cup - which is highly likely.

1) Another weakened Rugby Championship. Unless the RC is split in two, with a leg staged after the RWC in November, a shortened competition is a certainty. The 4N won't fit into a 6 week block - it's 9 weeks this year. The best Rugby tournament in the world will be forced to cut short, and will be faced with teams needing to rest and rotate players just to compete at RWC. Again. The NH nations have steadfastly refused to consider compromising the 6N.

2) Diminished exposure in Aus. With RWC games being staged around midnight or much later (especially after Daylight Savings begins in October), they will attract miniscule audiences in Australia and NZ. Most people will struggle to watch games at 12, 3 or 5 in the morning.

3) RWC minnows cannot secure minimum wage from IRB. IRB ignores the little guys again

 

[wolverine]

Double post.

 

[TOCC]

The "compromise" will reduce the chance of making loss and repeating ). However, SH Rugby and emerging nations are still faced with a number of negative outcomes.




1) Another weakened Rugby Championship. Unless the RC is split in two, with a leg staged after the RWC in November, a shortened competition is a certainty. The 4N won't fit into a 6 week block - it's 9 weeks this year. The best Rugby tournament in the world will be forced to cut short, and will be faced with teams needing to rest and rotate players just to compete at RWC. Again. The NH nations have steadfastly refused to consider compromising the 6N.

2) Diminished exposure in Aus. With RWC games being staged around midnight or much later (especially after Daylight Savings begins in October), they will attract miniscule audiences in Australia and NZ. Most people will struggle to watch games at 12, 3 or 5 in the morning.

3) RWC minnows cannot secure minimum wage from IRB. IRB ignores the little guys again

1) The SANZAR nations will be afforded extra compensation if the RWC impacts on the length of the Rugby Championship, whilst this may not stop SANZAR nations rotating players, it will offset any losses made from staging less games and receiving lower crowd income.

2) Yes this may be relevant to the England RWC which was always going to be the case... We need to remember that the following RWC will be in Japan.. i.e. primetime Aussie TV..

3) Agreed there is always room for improvement in helping the grassroot nations

 

[Ulrich]

How much of this gracious gift from the IRB will Argentina see?