Mallard 'obvious choice' for Cup role

The Government intends to put a minister in charge of the Rugby World Cup and Prime Minister Helen Clark says Sports Minister Trevor Mallard is the "obvious choice" given his love of the game.

"There's going to need to be a very close relationship between the Government and the Rugby Union because of the significance of the Government partnership," Helen Clark said yesterday.

"So we need, in the light of this fantastic decision, to now sit down with the Rugby Union and plot a course ahead for the next six years.

"We'll wait for [NZRFU chairman] Jock Hobbs and his team to arrive home and then sit down to plan the course of the next six years."

The PM said she was "absolutely confident we can do this, and do it well, and we've now got to establish the mechanisms that see the whole project through successfully".