SARU robs ARU

Australian Rugby Union CEO John O’Neill continues to whinge about the financial impact of the Springboks sending a second-string side to Australasia to contest the away leg of the Tri Nations.

He estimates that his union lost more than A$760,000 (R4.6million) through lost gate revenue – an issue that will be raised at a SANZAR board meeting in New Zealand on Friday.

The figures are based on ARU crowd attendance estimates of  60,000 people (the corresponding game last year drew 60,522). This year’s test drew only 51,174 and at an average ticket price of A$87, that translates to a loss of A$760,000.

“The original budgeting for this Test was around 60,000, and I think that’s probably about the right number. It was only a couple of weeks ago that the Socceroos played Uruguay in a friendly, and got 63,000.

“If you had said to someone three years ago, ‘Can you imagine a Socceroos friendly getting a bigger crowd than Australia versus the Springboks?’ they would have laughed at you. I reckon we were about 10,000 underdone,” claimed a bitter O’Neill.

“We will be able to use this as an example of the impact on the crowd last Saturday night. I’m simply saying this cost us money. It’s hurtful. I think we have to get these issues on the table.

“We have to start thinking about the future of SANZAR. Given that we are already two years into a five-year broadcasting deal, we need to be in a state of preparedness in about 12 months where we have a fair idea what the future is for SANZAR.

“We’ve got to sit down and sort out where SANZAR really wants to be. When the original SANZAR deal was done, it was really a 15-year deal because while it was 10 years, News Limited had a first and last option for a further five. So in terms of content, it was always a 15-year deal.

“The first opportunity for SANZAR to think about something radically new will arrive when this five year deal is over at the end of 2010.”

O’Neill had previously expressed his anger at the Springbok selections, but Jake White believes that the decision to leave twenty first-line players at home has been vindicated by the injury to Bob Skinstad.

“It could be a lot worse. I could be sitting here with my front-line players out for six months. It just reaffirms as a coach that the decisions we’ve made in the past four years have been the right decisions,” said the Bok coach.

Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, O’Neill responded by saying that White’s argument was “madness”.

“Some of the stuff Jake White has said are the most extraordinary of contradictions. He is basically saying that because Bobby Skinstad has a broken rib, that supports his decision to leave all the players behind. He is basically saying that his only objective this year is the World Cup. He has made it clear that whatever he has to do in between – so be it.

“South Africa, they just don’t get it. Clearly, we could have had Stephen Larkham injured on Saturday night, but we played him. What White’s basically saying is that he’s glad that he left all the really good players behind, because instead an average player got injured.”