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RFU CEO Refuses To Make Concessions Demanded By Southern Hemisphere Rivals

England is "refusing to make big financial concessions" to its "cash-strapped southern hemisphere rivals" and will oppose the idea of sharing the "vast revenues" generated by autumn Twickenham internationals, according to Robert Kitson of the London GUARDIAN. Rugby Football Union CEO Ian Ritchie has instead advised New Zealand and Australia to "go and build a bigger stadium" if they wish to boost their profits. Ritchie is "fully aware discussions are continuing" regarding the global calendar beyond '19 but has "ruled out any changes" to the financial "bedrocks" of the Six Nations and November Tests that have helped make the RFU "the richest union in the world." He also pointed out New Zealand will "retain all the revenue" generated from the '17 Lions tour and sees "no reason" to amend existing arrangements. Ritchie: "I’m not sure I get this argument. If we manage to sell out 82,000 here it’s because of our efforts and because we’ve invested in the stadium. If you look at the amount of money the RFU has spent on Twickenham ... of course we should get a return on that. Of course they would say they want more money. There is nothing to stop Australia or New Zealand building a [bigger] stadium. Go and build a stadium if you want to increase your revenue growth." Ritchie also "denies any bust-up with his New Zealand counterpart Steve Tew" regarding a possible fourth autumn Test between England and New Zealand at Twickenham in November next year. He said, "We’ve never had a discussion or a fallout over money about having a fixture" (GUARDIAN, 9/27). In London, Mick Cleary reported it has "long been a complaint of New Zealand and Australia that they suffer financially" by comparison with the European powerhouses such as France and England, and New Zealand has "made big play of the market value of the All Blacks." There have been reports that a fee of up to £3M ($3.9M) might be demanded for games outside the traditional int'l window. Ritchie "also put paid to any possibility of the game adopting a southern-hemisphere calendar" as a solution to the "vexed issue" of a global season. He said, "The southern hemisphere don’t want to play in their summer and we don’t in ours. The Six Nations and the autumn internationals are important bed-rocks, so we don’t anticipate change there. The [focus] of discussion is on the summer [June], although one year will be a Lions and another a World Cup. Discussions are ongoing" (TELEGRAPH, 9/27).

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