Pickering and Tew slam rugby report

David Pickering: Not concerned with rugby report

Both Welsh and New Zealand rugby CEOs have rubbished the report published at the weekend which claimed rugby was 'stuck in an English ghetto'.

The report, which popped up unannounced on Sunday and was commissioned by a group of anonymous 'committed rugby people' - including Sale Chairman Quentin Smith - accused the IRB of narrow-mindedness and said that the sport's global development was being restricted.

David Pickering, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) CEO said that the report was shallow and failed to acknowledge the growth in the game over the past four years.

"There is no real depth to the claims," said Pickering to the Western mail.

"You just have to look at the growth in spectator and TV audiences and the extra funding given to some of the smaller rugby playing nations.

"What everyone in world rugby has to realise is that the game is governed through a democratic process at IRB level.

"There is a process to determine major issues like the awarding of World Cups."

Pickering also said that he - like most of the rugby world - didn't understand the motive behind the report or attack on the IRB.

"The facts simply don't bear these claims out," he continued.

"The IRB's strategic report is all about growing the game globally and that is why we will award two World Cups at the same time to ensure there is a level playing field when it comes to the bidding process."

NZRU CEO Steve Tew raised similar concerns over the report's depth.

"I think the authors of this report probably need to look a little deeper. It appears at first glance to be quite superficial," Tew told Radio New Zealand.

A fair portion of the report focussed on the decision to award New Zealand the 2011 Rugby World Cup, saying it was an indicator of the narrow-mindedness of the IRB's approach.

"Our bid, the Japanese bid, the South African bid - they were all analysed, scrutinised and studied," continued Tew.

"We had a lot of confidence we had a compelling bid, but certainly by most people's estimates we were considered to be an outsider and won the right to host the World Cup against most people's expectations."

"I'm sure there are some very good points raised in this report but at first glance it looks to have been a little superficial. There's an awful lot going on behind the scenes."

The report makes six recommendations: an overhaul of the IRB's structure, corporate best practice applied to the body, a five-year plan for the sport's development, specific programmes with firm targets in growth regions, the 2015 World Cup being staged in one of those regions, and the inclusion of rugby sevens at the 2016 Olympics.

All fair recommendations enough, but a closer inspection of the IRB's developmental policies and tournaments would suggest that, leaving aside the internal structure of the IRB, most of them are already happening.