World Rugby rule out SANZAAR bailout
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World Rugby Vice-chairman Augustin Pichot has made clear that World Rugby won’t hand out any financial relief to cash-strapped SANZAAR (South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Argetina) nations.
Pichot said Australia, Argentina, New Zealand and South Africa must work together to emerge from the crisis, citing a chilling scenario of Rugby Australia collapsing financially and sparking an international domino impact.
Pichot estimated that no test rugby for the SANZAAR Nations would create a combined fiscal deficit of about AU$790 million, something he believes World Rugby couldn’t hope to cover.
“Because if Australia falls, then it hits straight to New Zealand first, then it will hit South Africa and Argentina. So we all fall,” Pichot told The Breakdown show on Sky TV.
“There’s no individual way. The first issue we need to address is coronavirus and mitigate it.
“It’s not about World Rugby giving handouts, because there’s no handout possible. World Rugby does not have 400 million pounds.”
Pichot said the sport’s enforced break should prompt SANZAAR to assess the ongoing profitability and viability of its competitions, even in the short term.
