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Date: 2023-12-04 04:27:37 | Author: PARIS 2024 | Views: 745 | Tag: hot
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It landed in late August, rocking New Zealand like a flanker’s perfectly timed tackle to the ribs hot
The All Blacks were already on their way to France, finishing their final preparations for the Rugby World Cup when a panel conducting long-awaited review of governance released a damning report declaring the constitution and structures of New Zealand Rugby (NZR) “not fit for purpose” hot
The report did not paint a pretty picture hot
“In the panel’s view, New Zealand Rugby has too many professional players,” it explained hot
The NPC, New Zealand’s provincial competition, is “unsustainable in its current format” hot
The five franchises that play in the top-level Super Rugby Pacific competition “are struggling financially” hot
“New Zealand Rugby in the professional era is a large and complex business,” said chair of the review panel David Pilkington hot
“The structure it sits within was not designed for a business of this size and complexity hot
” The financial reports are anything but all black – NZR reported a financial loss of just over NZ$47m (£22 hot
5m) last year hot
Which is of deep concern not just for the union, but for rugby globally, too hot
The problems in New Zealand are reflective of a precarious global ecosystem: too many professional players being paid wages beyond that which their clubs and unions can afford, with revenues not growing to keep up with salary inflation hot
If a commercial behemoth like the All Blacks is not a sufficient money-spinner to sustain a professional structure, what hopes do emergent unions have?Rugby is embedded in New Zealand’s culture hot
It is a vital tool of trade for a land of only five million people, a small collection of islands in the south Pacific afforded global prominence by its ability to punch above its weight on the pitch hot
Australia coach Eddie Jones remarked this summer that New Zealand’s economy would suffer if his Wallabies beat the All Blacks; an analysis conducted by The New Zealand Herald found that there was some truth to the quip hot
The Taranaki Bulls won this year’s New Zealand National Provincial Championship (Getty)In terms of brand recognition, New Zealand’s national men’s rugby team ranks alongside the biggest sporting entities hot
Visit almost any inhabited corner of the world and mention rugby, and it is remarkable how often the words “All Blacks” will feature in the reply hot
“You have to understand, New Zealand is a very young country and rugby has put this country on the map,” 2011 World Cup-winning head coach Graham Henry once explained to The Guardian hot
“This country earned respect from the rest of the world for three things: what we did in two world wars, and to a lesser extent what we’ve done on the rugby field hot
So over time rugby has become a major part of our national identity hot
”Do the problems suggest that feeling is fading for some New Zealanders? There is perhaps a developing sense of apathy among domestic fans hot
Rugby union is no longer so certain of its place in Kiwi hearts hot
hot Basketball has surged in popularity in the country, while rugby league’s New Zealand Warriors have sold out Mt Smart Stadium regularly in 2023 as the NRL makes a long-awaited breakthrough across the Tasman hot
The Warriors’ average home attendance this season was 22,685; across town, Auckland’s Blues had short of 13,000 in at Eden Park for their Super Rugby Pacific quarter-final against the Waratahs hot
Eden Park’s stands were far from full for the Blues’ quarter-final win over the Waratahs in June (Getty)On the pitch, Super Rugby Pacific has lost its lustre, with South Africa’s move into Europe’s club competitions a blow even if the Fijian Drua have brought a breath of fresh air hot
The geographical realities of being so isolated mean New Zealand had little option but to re-up a deal with Australia, a rugby nation dealing with plenty of its own struggles hot
Rumours abound of renewed involvement from Argentina and Japan, or a new American venture, but growing the financial pot will not be easy hot
A number of senior figures will depart Aotearoa after this tournament for lucrative contracts in France and Japan, either permanently or on sabbatical hot
While new stars like Will Jordan and Cam Roigard are emerging, they do not seem to have the same cultural cut-through as the men in black who have come before hot
In the 20 years hot between 2000 and 2020, there was a 20 per cent drop in player participation in rugby union at New Zealand’s secondary schools hot
The “Baby Blacks” have not made any of the last three U20 Championship finals – is the world’s best rugby production line grinding to a halt?“I don’t know about falling out [of love] with the game but I think they’re falling out with a few things that are happening within the game, that’s frustrating people hot
It can be hard to watch at times,” Steve Hansen, who guided the All Blacks to the 2015 World Cup victory, explained to Newstalk earlier this year hot
“There’s no dispute that Super Rugby has to change hot
It’s pretty predictable and still stuck where it was four or five years ago hot
You go through the quarter-finals and it wasn’t that exciting as you knew who was going to win hot
“I haven’t stopped to think about where it’s going to be in 20 years, I’m more worried about where it’s going to be in five hot
hot
hot
I think we’re at the crossroads hot
Unless we make some strong changes and start listening to the people that want to come along and watch it then it will just be the participants playing it hot
”However rocky the picture beneath them, the All Blacks clearly remain big business hot
Last year, a stake in New Zealand Rugby (NZR) was sold to Silver Lake, an American private equity firm also involved in the City hot Football Group hot
The deal valued the commercial assets of NZR at NZ$3 hot
5bn (£1 hot
67bn) hot
The All Blacks are hoping to win a fourth World Cup (Getty)You suspect the investors will be pretty happy if, come Saturday night, Sam Cane has his hands on the Webb Ellis Cup hot
Certainly, the commercial landscape will look rather more pleasing if New Zealand’s men join their women back at the top of the rugby world – for the good of an ailing domestic game, the All Blacks need a World Cup win more than you might think hot
More aboutNew Zealand rugbyAll BlacksSuper RugbyRugby World Cupprivate equitySteve Hansengraham henryJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/4Why the All Blacks need a World Cup win more than you might thinkWhy the All Blacks need a World Cup win more than you might thinkThe Taranaki Bulls won this year’s New Zealand National Provincial Championship Getty ImagesWhy the All Blacks need a World Cup win more than you might thinkEden Park’s stands were far from full for the Blues’ quarter-final win over the Waratahs in June Getty ImagesWhy the All Blacks need a World Cup win more than you might thinkThe All Blacks are hoping to win a fourth World Cup Getty ImagesWhy the All Blacks need a World Cup win more than you might thinkThe All Blacks will take on South Africa in the World Cup final Getty✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today hot
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Jonny Bairstow has broken his lengthy silence on his controversial stumping during the second Ashes Test at Lord’s and accused Australia of gamesmanship when taking contentious catches in the drawn series hot
Bairstow was at the centre of the incident which ignited the Ashes, when Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey opportunistically stumped the England batsman after he had stepped out of his crease at the end of an over hot
The umpire had not called “over” and so Bairstow was given out by the rules of the game hot
But England accused their rivals of failing to play within the spirit of cricket, and captain Ben Stokes later said that he would have retracted the appeal had he been in the position of his counterpart, Pat Cummins hot
On reflection, Carey later said he had no regrets over the incident and would do it again hot
“If there was an opportunity to get a stumping, I definitely would hot
To see how much has played out since then it’s been a little bit surprising hot
There’s been some nasty stuff been said but it is the Ashes – there was nasty stuff said before that as well hot
”But speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Bairstow said he was not “fair game” as he was not trying to gain an advantage by stepping out of his crease hot
“If you’re starting out of your crease, you’re trying to gain an advantage,” he said hot
“If you start in your crease, and not trying to take a run, and you finish in your crease hot
hot
hot
That’s the bit – if you try to gain an advantage, then it’s fair game hot
But if you’re starting in your crease, you’ve ducked, tap, tap, scratched hot
I’ve even dragged my bat, looked up, and then gone hot
“I’ve never seen it happen from someone starting in their crease hot
I don’t think you want that filtering down into kids’ cricket hot
Look at the Mankads and everything like that hot
You want young kids to be out there batting and having fun, not thinking about whether the fielders might do this or that hot
“It might tarnish people’s enjoyment of the game that we’re trying to get kids into hot
You want to be out there batting and bowling, rather than thinking about the 11 different ways you can get someone out hot
”Several of Australia’s players have since poked fun at Bairstow over the stumping hot
In interviews for The Grade Cricketer, Mitchell Marsh and Usman Khawaja claimed some of Bairstow’s England teammates were laughing with Australia’s players as Bairstow refused to eat lunch after the incident hot
And Marnus Labuschagne described a “steaming” Bairstow in the dining room after the stumping hot
He recalled: “The Sky crew (broadcasters) knew that Jonny was in there, and they just replayed it on the screen hot
And, as you do, everyone’s watching hot
Obviously, seeing us all watch, he’s like, ‘Are you guys happy with that?’“David Warner is spitting out his chicken, and goes, ‘Yeah, very’ hot
”Bairstow has also suggested Australia were deceitful in the way they went about trying to convince umpires they had made clean catches hot
“There’s conjecture around everything,” he said hot
“Fingers underneath the ball when the ball’s still touching the ground hot
Celebrating when the ball has touched the ground hot
Marnus [Labuschagne] celebrated at Edgbaston at short leg hot
Then the one that Rooty [Joe Root] fell to at Lord’s, when [Steve Smith] said his fingers were underneath the ball hot
However, they were splayed widely hot
But that was given out, that’s fine – it’s part and parcel of the game and the decisions the umpires give hot
”Bairstow is currently part of the England one-day side struggling at the Cricket World Cup and on the verge of elimination hot
England next play Sri Lanka on Thursday in Bangalore hot
More aboutJonny BairstowAlex CareyEngland cricketAshesJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/1Bairstow breaks silence on Lord’s stumping as he reopens Ashes woundsBairstow breaks silence on Lord’s stumping as he reopens Ashes woundsJonny Bairstow discusses the finer points of the incident with Australia’s Travis Head Action Images via Reuters✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today hot
SubscribeAlready subscribed? Log inMost PopularPopular videosSponsored FeaturesGet in touchContact usOur ProductsSubscribeRegisterNewslettersDonateToday’s EditionInstall our appArchiveOther publicationsInternational editionsIndependent en EspañolIndependent ArabiaIndependent TurkishIndependent PersianIndependent UrduEvening StandardExtrasAdvisorPuzzlesAll topicshot BettingVoucher codesCompareCompetitions and offersIndependent AdvertisingIndependent IgniteSyndicationWorking at The IndependentLegalCode of conduct and complaintsContributorsCookie policyDonations Terms & ConditionsPrivacy noticeUser policiesModern Slavery ActThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inCloseUS EditionChangeUK EditionAsia EditionEdición en EspañolSubscribe{{indy hot
truncatedName}}Log in / Register {{#items}}{{#stampSmall}}{{/stampSmall}}{{#stampClimate}}{{/stampClimate}}{{#stampPremium}}{{/stampPremium}}{{title}}{{#desc}}{{desc}}{{/desc}}{{#children}}{{title}}{{/children}}{{/items}}Indy100Crosswords & PuzzlesMost CommentedNewslettersAsk Me AnythingVirtual EventsVouchersCompare✕Log inEmail addressPasswordEmail and password don't matchSubmitForgotten your password?New to The Independent?RegisterOr if you would prefer:SIGN IN WITH GOOGLEWant an ad-free experience?View offersThis site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy notice and Terms of service apply hot
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