‘A long way from committing’: Kangaroos considering World Cup withdrawal

The participation of the Australian Kangaroos in the Rugby League World Cup remains unlikely after a backlash from NRL clubs, with ARLC chairman Peter V’landys declaring “we are a long way from being in a position to commit.”

Organisers are ploughing ahead with plans to stage the event in England at the end of the NRL season despite concerns over player welfare. Australia, however, is the only nation of the 16 invited to compete yet to sign a participation agreement, raising fears the tournament’s biggest drawcard won’t be in attendance.

NRL clubs are concerned the tournament, which is scheduled to be held from October 23 to November 27, will take too much of a toll on participants given the current lockdowns and the extended nature of the previous season.

NRL and ARLC officials have demanded tournament organisers fulfil a number of conditions – including financial guarantees and a raft of safety assurances – before taking the matter to the clubs, players and players’ union.

“The most important thing for us is the safety of the players,” V’landys said. “Unless we are totally and utterly satisfied that our players will be safe, we cannot commit.

“We have other questions about the financial situation. We also have concerns about the quarantine requirements.

The Kangaroos could boycott the World Cup.Credit:Getty

“We are a long way from being in a position to commit to the World Cup.

“We are in a very serious pandemic, Victoria has just locked itself down for five days. Our focus is on that at the moment.

“We have not got all the conditions [ticked off] that we have put forward and we won’t go to the clubs and the players until we see they are achieved.

“We are a long way from committing.”

The trophy up for grabs in the 2021 Rugby League World Cup.

The 16 NRL clubs are rarely aligned on any issue, but all are united in the belief that the World Cup shouldn’t be staged this year.

“The NRL and the clubs are firm in our view that postponement would be the most appropriate thing to do,” said Manly chief executive Stephen Humphreys.

“Whilst we genuinely want to support the international game, we are really concerned about the risks to the players and staff that would be involved across multiple countries.

“There’s the disruption it would cause to next year as well. It’s also the culmination of things, the aggregation of it all.

‘Given our [NRL] clubs supply the majority of players I’m not sure who would be fronting up for some of these teams.’

“The risk, the disruption, the physical and mental fatigue, all of that. When you combine it all up, it just leads to a view that says ‘Gosh, this is the last thing we need right now.’

“Let’s just reschedule it to a time when we can all be supportive of it. That’s our view when we’ve discussed it as a group, that’s the sentiment coming through.

“We want to support it, but it’s the wrong time for all of those reasons.”

Canberra counterpart Don Furner said it was “a big ask” to expect the players to go through another extended season under the current circumstances.

Raiders CEO Don Furner.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

“It’s a period where the Olympics had to be postponed … I’m not sure we shouldn’t be thinking about postponing,” Furner said.

“I can’t imagine any clubs being for it. Given our [NRL] clubs supply the majority of players – we have several that would play for Fiji, Samoa, three or four English players – I’m not sure who would be fronting up for some of these teams.

“I don’t think any club or club coach would be thrilled with any of this. It just seems a bridge too far in a really difficult year, on the back of a difficult year last year, to be adding another burden doesn’t seem feasible.”

Panthers CEO Brian Fletcher added: “Your first thought is, ‘well, the timing is just bad’.

“I wouldn’t want to be going to England to play sport with a pandemic on, it just doesn’t make sense. I know we have to have international football to promote the game – nobody questions that – but it’s just the timing.”

The Warriors, who have been away from their New Zealand home for the best part of two seasons, would be one of the clubs most affected.

“We’re in isolation up here [in Queensland] because there’s 65 people a day in Sydney getting COVID,” said coach Nathan Brown.

“There’s 30,000 a day getting it in England, so tell me where the common sense is there.

“As clubs, under most normal circumstances, you want to promote and encourage players to play rep football.

“We’ve got a fair number of New Zealand players, Samoan players. We’re probably the most multicultural club in the competition. The World Cup, at the right time, is great for everyone.

“But it is clearly just not the right time with what is going on in the world at the moment. For us as a club to see most of our squad turn up in February next year when we’re a new club with a lot of new players having been on the road for two years straight, I would have thought it’s not the right move for the Warriors.”

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