NZ Rugby Players Association boss Rob Nichol has backed the decision of the All Blacks not flying to Perth on Saturday for Bledisloe III, with the fate of the Rugby Championship still unclear.
With a question mark on whether Australia can host the Rugby Championship due to the country's COVID situation, New Zealand, alongside Argentina and South Africa, gave Queensland an ultimatum on whether the game and championship could go ahead in Australia.
“It was almost a decision taken out of the hands… That wasn’t something we all thought was sensible (playing in Perth) and so what we said, and Argentina and South Africa did the same thing, that by Friday lunchtime if we can’t confirm that Queensland can host the Rugby Championship and quarantine and let them train, Argentina and South Africa, then we are going to have to push everything out a week which is pretty much what happened," Nichol told SENZ Mornings with Ian Smith.
Although the decision was sudden, NZ Rugby had shared the press release with Rugby Australia and while Australia weren’t blindsided, Nichols admitted that the situation could have been handled better by all parties.
“To be fair they (Rugby Australia) didn’t want the release to go out because they hadn’t kept their stakeholders informed throughout, but the challenge we had is we had 65 people about to jump on a plane and they needed to be told, and their families needed to be told," Nichol continued.
“And as soon as they are told, everyone finds out, so NZ Rugby made the call to put the release up.
“Probably the explanation and communication of, exactly, the circumstances wasn’t clear enough for everyone is my pick on how things have rolled out.
“The war of words was really disappointing for everyone. The players hate seeing that kind of stuff, but the reality is, it was kind of a decision that was taken out of everyone’s hands.
“South Africa and Argentina cancelled their charter flight. They are still in South Africa now."
The Queensland government will need to come to a decision on Monday as to whether the Rugby Championship can be played in Australia.
While Australia is still the preferred host, the UK and Europe or South Africa are next in line if Queensland is unable to give the green light.
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