Sport

Two weeks to sort Rugby Championship saga

08:40 am on 2 October 2020

New Zealand Rugby has two weeks to come up with a solution to the Rugby Championship stalemate.

New Zealand Rugby chair Brent Impey. Photo: Photosport

Chairman Brent Impey said all options remain on the table regarding the tournament, to be held in Australia from November 7 to December 12, including the All Blacks boycotting their final game.

RNZ understands New Zealand Rugby are pushing hard to move the final game forward to Wednesday December 9, but that would rob the competition of it's final weekend double header and likely affect the potential revenue made from the match.

That could mean NZR may be asked by Rugby Australia to soak up some of that financial loss if RA were to agree to shift the date of the game.

Impey said a decision will need to made within the next two weeks to give the All Blacks and NZR clarity heading into the four-nations tournament.

Impey said that moving the final game to a midweek fixture, refusing the play the last test, or backing down and accepting the schedule are some of the potential outcomes.

"There are many options including the mid-week game or brining it forward in the tournament. Nothing has been ruled out, but we do have some time to figure this all out."

It would appear boycotting the final game isn't an option, with the legal ramifications of defaulting the game likely to stop the All Blacks from not playing.

If they refused to play, NZR could become liable for the financial hit suffered by the loss of broadcast revenue and ticket sales.

Impey said leaked "minutes" claiming they agreed to the tournament schedule were just notes and they always opposed a draw that would finish on December the 12th and result in the All Blacks spending Christmas in quarantine.