Hobbs brushes off wet delegate worry

The controversy involving a high-ranking but soggy French rugby delegate is unlikely to scupper New Zealand's 2011 World Cup bid.

That was the view of New Zealand Rugby Union chairman Jock Hobbs, responding to a media report that an NZRFU faux pas during this year's Lions tour could have serious repercussions.

"Was it the moment when New Zealand began to lose the race for the 2011 Rugby World Cup?" British journalist Peter Bills opined in the Herald over an incident which saw French International Rugby Board (IRB) representative Jacques Laurans storm out of Eden Park during the third Lions-All Blacks test.

Laurans had been given a seat too near the front of the stand to avoid wet weather. He is alleged to have put up with the rain that evening for 10 minutes and then stood up, exclaiming to those around him, "This is disgraceful".

He is then said to have returned to his hotel to watch the rest of the match on television.

One Rugby World Cup "insider" was reported as saying the incident was potentially disastrous for New Zealand's World Cup bid, exposing a lack of planning and attention to detail.

Hobbs described Laurans as a "good friend" who had put the incident behind him.

"We had apologised to him, which he accepted some time ago," said Hobbs, who met up with Laurans in France last month.

"He raised it with me and said 'it was not an issue, I don't want you to worry about it Jock'. And I'm not going to."

Hobbs said the Lions tour was a success in terms of planning and logistics and had done nothing but boost New Zealand's World Cup hosting prospects.

The New Zealand-France relationship remained as firm as ever, he added.

- NZPA