Petersen To Fight Sydney's Corner

Sydney Morning Herald

Friday May 4, 2007

Greg Growden

SYDNEY will get more quality Tests, including Bledisloe Cup matches every season, if new Australian Rugby Union director Arvid Petersen gets his way. As the minor states attempt to assert their authority at the ARU, at least Petersen is reminding all that NSW, the prime source of rugby players, has recently been dudded in the Test scheduling. Too many good games are being taken away from Sydney, as shown this season when it will host a B-grade international against Wales, and a Springboks Test. The Bledisloe Cup is in Melbourne. Petersen, who recently joined the ARU board, wants that changed. "There is only one or two elite games left in the Sydney market this year, and so for the next five months all we are going to have is league and AFL," he said. "We just don't have enough quality elite rugby in this city, and to build the game here we must have more of it." He also wants the Bledisloe Cup in Sydney every year. "This is rugby heartland, and we have disenfranchised people." While Petersen will refreshingly push for change at the ARU level, it appears he hasn't exactly delighted Sydney clubland. Influential Sydney club officials on Monday will demand that Petersen relinquish his chairmanship of NSW Rugby Union - which he is obliged to do in the next six months - sooner rather than later.

ARU Executive Stakes

An interesting quote from London's Sunday Times rugby writer Stephen Jones in the latest issue of NZ Rugby World magazine: "If the blessed rumours are true and John O'Neill is coming back into rugby with the ARU, then the number of truly gifted administrators in the whole Tri Nations set-up will rise to one," Jones wrote. The odds of O'Neill returning to the ARU remain long, especially as several directors will block his way. But Arvid Petersen will keep pushing for O'Neill's appointment - which will see the former boss shortly being approached by ARU headhunters. Renowned rugby bookmaker Dirk Diggler has framed a market for us on who will win the ARU CEO's job. Week one: 2-1 Peter O'Meara, 5-2 Rob Clarke, 9-2 Mark Sinderberry, 6-1 Tony Dempsey, 8-1 Matt Carroll, 10-1 Rod Macqueen, 15-1 Eddie Jones, 20-1 Jeff Sayle, 25-1 Peter Foster, 33-1 Ronnie Biggs, 50-1 Ken Elphick, 80-1 Mark Latham and 100-1 Alan Bond. We will update the odds every week, however, they will change abruptly if O'Neill suddenly appears in the St Leonards mounting yard with the bright-red silks on.

Sponsors unimpressed

While the ARU keep frothing on about ticket sales for the Wales Test in Sydney apparently going "through the roof", many observers in the know are sceptical. Corporate support for the Sydney Test night functions is apparently way down. R@M has also been told three sponsors are considering whether they will continue to be involved with the ARU after this season. If one of them, a high-profile company, pulls out, the game up north will undergo a dramatic change. The gloom of that terrible Australia-South Africa Test at Telstra Stadium last year still hangs heavily over the code. One official yesterday said his most poignant memory of that night was observing policemen evicting rowdy, drunken supporters. This prompted several disgruntled fans to scream out: "Can you throw us out as well?"

Drive-through donation

Waratahs coach Ewen McKenzie has reluctantly been forced to withdraw from attending one of the more intriguing charity functions because he can't get back from the Super 14 match in Wellington early enough on Sunday. McKenzie, a passionate Harley Davidson rider, was hoping to get to former Wallaby prop Bill Young's Wisemans Ferry pub. Young, raising funds for the Sydney Children's Hospital, is opening the doors of the Wisemans Inn Hotel on Sunday morning for motorbike enthusiasts to ride through the pub's front entrance and out the back, as long as they give a donation.

League of their own

Faux pas of the week goes to ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope, who referred to George Gregan and Stephen Larkham as "two of the greatest rugby league... union players".

Rumour of the week

The ARU is to open up a laundromat service with the slogan: "Bring in your dirty linen and we'll give it a good spin."