Still undecided if this is a good thing or bad.
From the Herald.....
Pasifika side still years off: Watson
23.02.2004
By CHRIS RATTUE
Warriors' boss Mick Watson plans to call on the New Zealand Rugby Union to explain a clandestine meeting with the International Rugby Board.
Watson would neither confirm nor deny a Sunday newspaper report that the Warriors' owners were proposing to run a Pacific Islands rugby team that would play tests and in an expanded Super 12.
The story claimed the team, called Pasifika, would be test-rated and is provisionally set to play England at Twickenham this year. It suggested the creation of Pasifika would bring about a rival to the NZRFU as an employer of players in this country.
Watson distanced the Warriors from the IRB meeting and was adamant that claims in the story were "premature" and "blown out of proportion".
When asked if the IRB link would lead to much, Watson replied: "I've no idea to be frank. It's way too early. It's potentially years away."
The paper claimed that All Black greats John Kirwan and Michael Jones would coach a team of Samoan, Tongan and Fijian players, and that board roles could be found for luminaries John Hart, Sean Fitzpatrick and Andy Haden.
Whatever may lie ahead, the revelations have provided a little glitch in rugby-rugby league relations, and those between the NZRFU and the international board, which did not inform the union it had met Watson.
NZRFU chief executive Chris Moller was surprised that "as the father of the family the IRB did not tell one of its children".
"We have always championed Pacific Islands rugby. We would look at any proposal but there are a huge number of issues. Who's to know how Australia or South Africa would look at it."
Watson will call on Moller to explain last month's face-to-face meeting with the IRB. Watson said it was a courtesy the union deserved, and that rugby and rugby league bosses had developed a relationship of respect which demanded Moller be "kept up to speed".
He also intends making a "presentation" to Sanzar within a fortnight.
He cited business reasons for not revealing all yesterday - although he said there was little to tell.
Watson confirmed to the Herald that he had one formal meeting with IRB senior executives in mid-January when they were in Auckland at a conference on the game.
IRB chairman Syd Millar, chief executive Mike Miller and leading coaches such as Graham Henry and Sir Clive Woodward were at the three-day conference.
The story has caught Watson's organisation on the hop because the New Zealand union and Sanzar had no knowledge of the IRB involvement.
Watson said there was no need to inform the NRL because "it is nothing to do with the Warriors, it is to do with Cullen Investments".
The Warriors are 75 per cent owned by Cullen Sports, an off-shoot of Kiwi millionaire Eric Watson's Cullen Investments. The New Zealand Rugby League owns the other 25 per cent of the club.
"We've been working a long time behind the scenes and collecting information and understanding what's happening in the Pacific nations," said Watson.
"There is no deal, just one formal discussion based on helping Samoa in the first instance, and a couple of what ifs thrown in the air from there.
"The reason the IRB hasn't spoken to anyone is that these are topline discussions, principal discussions. Because we were talking in principal we weren't at a stage yet to be speaking or sharing with Sanzar or the NZRFU.
"I've got a lot of empathy with the NZRFU and Chris Moller in particular. We share a backyard and competing for the same corporate dollar, that's sensitive ... you want to do things with integrity. This would have come out of the blue for the NZRFU. No one has spoken to them because it is not at that level yet.
"It's all been based on theory and showcasing our organisation. Nothing more than that. We are an investment company that speaks to a lot of people about a lot of things, about a lot of deals."
From the Herald.....
Pasifika side still years off: Watson
23.02.2004
By CHRIS RATTUE
Warriors' boss Mick Watson plans to call on the New Zealand Rugby Union to explain a clandestine meeting with the International Rugby Board.
Watson would neither confirm nor deny a Sunday newspaper report that the Warriors' owners were proposing to run a Pacific Islands rugby team that would play tests and in an expanded Super 12.
The story claimed the team, called Pasifika, would be test-rated and is provisionally set to play England at Twickenham this year. It suggested the creation of Pasifika would bring about a rival to the NZRFU as an employer of players in this country.
Watson distanced the Warriors from the IRB meeting and was adamant that claims in the story were "premature" and "blown out of proportion".
When asked if the IRB link would lead to much, Watson replied: "I've no idea to be frank. It's way too early. It's potentially years away."
The paper claimed that All Black greats John Kirwan and Michael Jones would coach a team of Samoan, Tongan and Fijian players, and that board roles could be found for luminaries John Hart, Sean Fitzpatrick and Andy Haden.
Whatever may lie ahead, the revelations have provided a little glitch in rugby-rugby league relations, and those between the NZRFU and the international board, which did not inform the union it had met Watson.
NZRFU chief executive Chris Moller was surprised that "as the father of the family the IRB did not tell one of its children".
"We have always championed Pacific Islands rugby. We would look at any proposal but there are a huge number of issues. Who's to know how Australia or South Africa would look at it."
Watson will call on Moller to explain last month's face-to-face meeting with the IRB. Watson said it was a courtesy the union deserved, and that rugby and rugby league bosses had developed a relationship of respect which demanded Moller be "kept up to speed".
He also intends making a "presentation" to Sanzar within a fortnight.
He cited business reasons for not revealing all yesterday - although he said there was little to tell.
Watson confirmed to the Herald that he had one formal meeting with IRB senior executives in mid-January when they were in Auckland at a conference on the game.
IRB chairman Syd Millar, chief executive Mike Miller and leading coaches such as Graham Henry and Sir Clive Woodward were at the three-day conference.
The story has caught Watson's organisation on the hop because the New Zealand union and Sanzar had no knowledge of the IRB involvement.
Watson said there was no need to inform the NRL because "it is nothing to do with the Warriors, it is to do with Cullen Investments".
The Warriors are 75 per cent owned by Cullen Sports, an off-shoot of Kiwi millionaire Eric Watson's Cullen Investments. The New Zealand Rugby League owns the other 25 per cent of the club.
"We've been working a long time behind the scenes and collecting information and understanding what's happening in the Pacific nations," said Watson.
"There is no deal, just one formal discussion based on helping Samoa in the first instance, and a couple of what ifs thrown in the air from there.
"The reason the IRB hasn't spoken to anyone is that these are topline discussions, principal discussions. Because we were talking in principal we weren't at a stage yet to be speaking or sharing with Sanzar or the NZRFU.
"I've got a lot of empathy with the NZRFU and Chris Moller in particular. We share a backyard and competing for the same corporate dollar, that's sensitive ... you want to do things with integrity. This would have come out of the blue for the NZRFU. No one has spoken to them because it is not at that level yet.
"It's all been based on theory and showcasing our organisation. Nothing more than that. We are an investment company that speaks to a lot of people about a lot of things, about a lot of deals."
