Snedden delivers a Cup for the people

BY MARC HINTON

Last updated 09:04 13/03/2009

JOHN SELKIRK/Fairfax Media

HERE IT IS: Martin Snedden unveils the match schedule for the 2011 Rugby World Cup at a function in Auckland.

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OPINION: Don't get too hung up on the late nights in store for the Rugby World Cup, the unveiling of the tournament programme represents a significant victory for New Zealand.

How, you might ask? It's just a tournament draw, after all, and we already knew who was in (or the main players at least) and in what pools they would play.

But yesterday's announcement of the match schedule represented the second most significant aspect of a tournament rightfully trumpeted as the third biggest sporting event on the global stage.

And in almost every respect New Zealand was a winner. Even the cursed late kickoffs, which will stretch to 8.30pm for weekend pool matches and the quarter-finals, and 9pm for the semifinals and final, can be considered a more than fair tradeoff for what New Zealand got in the end.

Sure, the purists won't like the fact that their rugby matches won't start until what, for us anyway, is a late-ish hour. But let's not forget it is September-October, the worst of the winter is well tucked away, and perhaps it's time we all got a bit Euro-centric anyway, and thought more about enjoying our evenings and less about getting tucked up in bed in anticipation of putting the nose to the grindstone bright and early the next day.

Really what Kiwi is going to grumble about a late night or two when it means the tournament, and by association our country, will be beamed into millions of homes at a much more respectable (read profitable) hour on the other side of the world.

Who are we, just a little island in the Pacific, to dictate such a crucial aspect as kickoff times? For goodness sake, we should just be thankful we got the event, for if Australia had their way the flaming thing would be in Japan.

And when you get a monolithic organisation like the International Rugby Board prepared to compromise, as they have, well I reckon that's worth celebrating.

And, believe me, by allowing Martin Snedden and his RNZ 2011 organisation to spread the World Cup around 13 venues in 13 cities the length and breadth of the country it has taken some compromise.

I know this because I asked IRB chief exec Mike Miller that very question. He made it clear in no uncertain terms that it had not been the IRB's desire for the tournament to be spread so widely.

You see the more venues, the greater the costs. The greater the costs, the less the profit. And we all know the IRB likes its profit.

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But in this case there has been some major give and take going on.

New Zealand's vision for this World Cup has been all about the "stadium of four million". To truly deliver on that, organisers believed they had to take the tournament to Invercargill and Nelson; to Palmerston North and New Plymouth; to Napier and Whangarei.

It wouldn't do, they reckoned, to just whisk everyone around the main centres and say "that was New Zealand folks, did you enjoy it?"

But they've achieved their vision for a World Cup for all of New Zealand, and not only will the great people of the provinces get to play their part in staging this wonderful tournament, but the invading hordes will also be persuaded to have a good old look around.

New Zealand has no chance of making this a successful World Cup by dazzling with our stadia, or delighting with out big cities and their splendiferous amenities. That's just not us, and believe me we'll be asking for some patience from visiting fans when it comes to aspects such as travel, accommodation and entertainment.

But what we can deliver is a true rugby experience, dosed with liberal Kiwiana.

What this is, make no mistake, is a World Cup for the true rugby fan who can immerse him or herself in the culture of a country that really does worship at the oval ball altar.

And to project a Cup for the people, by the people, from the people, we had to take this event to as much as New Zealand as we could. Snedden has achieved that, and to him I say well done.

One other thing: the opening match also represents another win for New Zealand.

I'm sure the IRB would have preferred the more marquee All Blacks-France matchup.

But Snedden has got Tonga, we've saved the France match for later in the event when it will be better for all concerned, and in many ways we've got two bites of the cherry. A cultural celebration to kick off, then a grudge match to sharpen up at the business end of pool play.

Are you excited New Zealand? You should be. Snedden and his team have ensured that this truly is your World Cup.

- © Fairfax NZ News