IRB not rushing into changes

By WYNNE GRAY

Having a global sport was a priority for the International Rugby Board, but creating a global schedule was not so clearcut, the new chief executive, Mike Miller, accepted yesterday.

"We would hope so," he said of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres dovetailing their programmes.

"But what we have are two seasons and debates for the next few years about whether it is possible to have a unified season.

"We don't want to make the mistake of moving traditional times around and then finding they have lost their impact."

Miller, who began his job in April, was in New Zealand to meet the new chairman of the New Zealand Rugby Football Union, Jock Hobbs, and acting chief executive Steve Tew.

Miller thought it appropriate to meet the new NZRFU hierarchy after the World Cup fallout.

"We have to work together and it's important to keep the dialogue going and understand all the issues," he said.

Miller said the controversial North-South game would go ahead at Twickenham on November 30. It was an apt way of raising revenue for disadvantaged IRB member countries.

He disputed that the match would conflict with concerns about excessive demands on players.

"The recent player welfare conference that the IRB called looked at these issues and there is no real definition of player burnout," he said.

New Zealanders selected for that game will be revealed soon and Hobbs said that while the NZRFU had to honour an agreement made by the previous regime, the player burnout topic would not be left in abeyance.

Miller said the IRB wanted rugby, probably sevens, included in the Olympics.

It was a superb commercial and promotional opportunity for the sport.

The greatest challenge facing the IRB was to balance the growing commercial success of rugby while still developing the game.