The Irish/All Blacks rivalry takes another turn, Mark Graham's new doco and Dan Hooker's big payday may have to wait. Photo / Getty Images, Photosport, Getty Images
Scott Robertson’s All Blacks are being forced to front up to Ireland only six days after facing England; French rugby rails against NZR’s 20-minute red card global trial; And the legendary Mark Graham joins the Kiwis camp. All in today’s Sports Insider.
OPINION
Just in case you thought the antipathy between the All Blacks and Ireland is restricted to Reiko Ioane and his teammates and Johnny Sexton and his, there is an update.
The administrators of each national union don’t like each other either.
That can be the only explanation for the Irish union scheduling next month’s blockbuster test between the two teams in Dublin for a Friday night.
Conveniently for Andy Farrell’s team, the All Blacks will be robbed of one day’s preparation by the November 8 scheduling, with Scott Robertson’s men having to front up just six days after facing England at Twickenham on a Saturday.
England are still spoiling over blowing what they believe was a winnable series over the All Blacks here earlier this year and will throw plenty at Razor’s line-up at Twickers.
And Ireland have also clearly been stewing since being sent on their way by the All Blacks last year in the quarter-finals of a World Cup Sexton and company clearly believed was their destiny.
It still rankles – hence the dirty pool.
The Irish aren’t the only ones who seem to be spoiling for a fight with New Zealand Rugby (NZR) either.
The French rugby union has launched a concerted bid to scuttle New Zealand’s proposed 20-minute red card law, which our national union wants introduced into international tests.
The French Federation, the Ligue Nationale de Rugby and the French players’ union have all combined to express their “strong opposition” to the plan, which has the backing of other Southern Hemisphere unions.
The French have produced an analysis paper to back their claim that red cards don’t necessarily ruin matches – the main plank NZR is arguing (not surprisingly, after the Sam Cane World Cup final red card).
Of 480 Top 14 and Tier 1 test matches analysed, the French argue only 60% of teams penalised with a red card ended up losing, adding that the change “could encourage dangerous behaviours and compromise player safety”.
It would “represent an unacceptable step backward in the measures implemented over the past several years to reduce head contacts and encourage players to demonstrate greater technical control in contact situations”.
That makes it pretty clear which way the French will vote on an approval for a global trial of the new law to be made at a World Rugby meeting on November 14.
England’s Guardian media outlet is predicting a “lively debate” with New Zealand and French administrators leading the charge.
An ambitious plan by the owners of England’s professional clubs to create a British and Irish or Anglo-Welsh league has been shelved.
The secret idea, revealed last month, never really gained momentum and Premiership Rugby, which runs England’s troubled top-tier club competition, appears to have quietly killed it.
Northern Hemisphere press are reporting a 10-team domestic competition is now favoured, after the possibility of a merger with sides from Ireland, Scotland and Wales was discussed at a board meeting of English clubs last month.
The concept required booting the South African franchises who have joined European club competitions from the United Rugby Championship (URC), which would have been dissolved under the proposal.
The marooning of the South Africans had raised the possibility of a return to Super Rugby by the republic’s teams, after they angrily walked away from the Southern Hemisphere competition following a spat with New Zealand Rugby during the Covid pandemic.
Combining the English clubs with their powerful Irish opposites like Leinster and Munster – who drew a phenomenal sellout crowd of 80,000 plus to a club derby in the URC last week – was seen as a way to boost broadcast and commercial revenues.
An Anglo-Welsh structure was also examined as a way of increasing value.
But everybody has cold feet now, possibly on the back of a report on a study that revealed only 2% of UK sports properties can expect major media rights growth in the next five years.
All of this means the South African franchises will be staying put in Europe.
Australian NRL powerbrokers Peter V’Landys and Andrew Abdo are said to be demanding A$20 million ($22m) in licence fees from any new club admitted to the competition in future years, including a second New Zealand-based franchise.
This is despite admitting the Redcliffe Dolphins two seasons ago with no fee required.
It makes Sports Insider wonder if the NRL has gone all starry-eyed because American billionaire Bill Foley stumped up A$25m to Australia’s A-League to secure the latest Kiwi sports franchise to be birthed.
The A-League has been in serious financial trouble after squandering a A$300m investment from Silver Lake (with much help from the Americans, it must be said) and wanted to renew its depleted bank accounts by admitting four new teams.
That would raise A$100m. But only Auckland coughed up, with Canberra and others saying no – and subsequently only Foley’s team were added.
Auckland FC make their debut against the Brisbane Roar on Saturday at Mt Smart Stadium.
The jury is out on whether the new club will ever feature higher on the A-League points table than the initial, alphabetically determined table – but in terms of marketing and building hype, the new franchise is definitely top-tier.
New Zealand’s highest paid sports star Steven Adams is the latest addition to a heavyweight celebrity group who have joined Foley as investors.
Adams, who admits he only ever played football at school – “it’s a short man’s game” – joins another extremely tall man, former All Blacks lock Ali Williams in an ownership group which includes his wife, successful businesswoman Anna Mowbray, and ex-All Whites Winston Reid, Tim Brown (of Allbirds fame) and Noah Hickey.
There are a few egos there to juggle but Auckland FC look to have the verve and potential staying power to rattle the A-League’s cage.
Arguably the two greatest players in New Zealand rugby league history will be reunited for the first time in almost 25 years during the week leading up to the Pacific Championships test against Tonga at Mt Smart Stadium later this month.
After hearing Queensland-based Mark Graham was going to be in his old hometown for the red carpet premiere of a movie made by his son about the Kiwi icon’s life, national coach Stacey Jones reached out to invite the great man into the Kiwis camp.
Graham and Jones, of course, were last together when the former was coaching the Warriors in 1999 and 2000 and the latter was emerging as the club’s finest player.
But they haven’t really seen other since and Jones leapt at the opportune timing. Graham, the first Kiwi to be honoured in the NRL’s Hall of Fame, will spend a few days with Jones and captain James-Fisher Harris ahead of the November 2 clash against Tonga.
The Kiwis squad will also attend the red-carpet premiere of Sharko at Auckland’s Reading Cinema in New Lynn the next night.
Other league identities who will be there include another former Kiwis captain Hugh McGahan and Dean Lonergan (both of whom worked alongside Graham at the Warriors) and a heap of other former New Zealand national players.
Graham’s son Luke is an accomplished Australian-based film-maker and the documentary on his dad is not so much a sports story as a complex and layered look at family.
Sports Insider has been fortunate enough to watch an advance screening of Sharko. And it’s damn good.
Earlier this week, there was excited speculation that Kiwi UFC fighter Dan “The Hangman” Hooker was set to be paired against the biggest name in martial arts (even if he is a complete tool), Conor McGregor.
UFC boss Dana White looked to have signed off on a February 2 fight between the pair in Saudi Arabia, which would mark the return of McGregor to the octagon for the first time since mid-2021, when he suffered a horrendous foot injury against American Dustin Poirier.
McGregor has two fights left on his UFC contract, which is the richest in its history. The 36-year-old Irishman has amassed close to US$40m ($66m) in prizemoney but is said to be planning to exit the UFC as soon as his agreement is up.
The mouthy McGregor is largely considered to be a spent force by fans and media experts, while his controversial private life continues to raise eyebrows even as he garners more wealth from successful whisky and fashion businesses.
Still, McGregor’s comeback fight is generating massive interest and would have represented a big payday for Hooker, who has long battled the odds but has generated a brave and impressive career.
But Hooker this week scuttled the speculation, saying he won’t fight in February because his wife is due to give birth to his second child next year.
“I can fight in January or March,” he said. “[But] the missus is due February, so no can go.”
As for McGregor’s motivation to keep fighting, even Hooker says he can’t work that one out.
“The guy [McGregor] has got money coming out of his ears. If I had that amount of money in the bank, you wouldn’t see me anywhere near a fist fight.”
Grant Dalton has been a man on a mission in Barcelona this week, doubling down on his growing conviction that New Zealand will never host the America’s Cup regatta again.
The Team New Zealand boss has been running that line for at least a month of course, first telling the Herald of the low odds of the Auld Mug being raced for off Auckland again.
But he is being even bolder in international press this week, as evidenced in his latest interview yesterday with a major European-based sports business online outlet.
SportsPro asked Dalton what conditions would be necessary for Team NZ to take the race back to Auckland should Peter Burling and his Kiwi crew go on to defeat Ineos Britannia off Barcelona.
“We left for the commercial reasons so for us to go back, the situation would have to be better,” Dalton says. “I don’t think it would be a particularly popular choice by a conservative Government to fund a yacht race at a time when the country is on its knees.
“They might [fund it] because the economic benefits on a measure would outweigh the investment. But you tell [that to] someone who can’t get a job or someone that has had to close their business.”
And then this zinger...
“We’ll wait and see. We’re not Santa Claus and unless it commercially works, we can’t go back.”
Rafael Nadal: A winner of 22 Grand Slams and a decent bloke to boot, the Spanish superstar has hung up his racquet. “I leave with the absolute peace of mind of having given my best, of having made an effort in every way,” Nadal said. We second that, Rafa.
Shaun Johnson: One final hurrah for the Kiwis in the Pacific Championships, which kicks off this weekend. Will it end the same way as his Warriors career by conjuring a match-sealing try with his final play? Surely not!
Tom Brady: The all-American boy with the lantern jaw and suspect relationship with Donald Trump buys 5% of the Las Vegas Raiders NFL franchise, further increasing his future personal net wealth, which is already said to be more than US$500m.
White Ferns: Set to face the West Indies in this weekend’s Twenty20 World Cup semifinals in Sharjah after the Windies knocked out tournament co-favourites England in the final group game.
The Kiwi will coach Wales through the 2025 Six Nations.