S Africa banned, rugby World Cup organisers say

Press, 2 July 1985, Page 38

S Africa banned, rugby World Cup organisers say

NZPA Staff Correspondents

Wellington

The organisers of rugby’s first World Cup, scheduled for New Zealand and Australia in 1987, have decided to exclude South Africa, the New South Wales Sports Minister, Mr Michael Cleary, said yesterday.

He had been told of the decision by Australia Rugby Union president, Sir Nicholas Shehadie, as the pair watched the Wallabies-All Blacks test at Eden Park on Saturday, Mr Cleary said.

"Sir Nicholas told me that South Africa would not be invited.”

Before speaking to the Minister, Sir Nicholas had attended a meeting of Australian and New Zealand rugby officials who are organising the World Cup. They have had to grapple with the fact that entry to Australia and New Zealand for the World Cup would be extremely difficult if not impossible, for the Springboks, no matter how important their participation was in terms of world rugby supremacy. The chairman of the New Zealand Rugby Union’s World Cup sub-committee, Mr Dick Littlejohn, said after Saturday’s meeting that the identity of the 16 participating World Cup countries would be released in London in three weeks by Mr John Kendall-Carpenter,

the International Rugby Board’s overseeing chairman of cup arrangements. Mr Littlejohn yesterday refused to confirm South Africa’s exclusion, repeating that any statement must come from London.

But Mr Cleary, a 1961 Wallaby to South Africa, and who was at Eden Park as a guest of the New South Wales Rugby Union, indicated he was in no doubt that the decision on the contentious South African issue had been taken.

“It wasn’t something I asked him (Sir Nicholas) about. He just leant across to tell me it was coming off,” he said.

Mr Cleary, who became a Kangaroo in 1963 after switching to league as well as being a Commonwealth Games sprint medallist, said he had also been told by the ARU president that the World Cup organisers hope to realise about $lO million in sponsorship.

“Their biggest problem, especially in Sydney, is that some of the grounds are already tied to sponsorship. “What they’re looking for

is free grounds so they can sell the sponsorship,” he said.

South Africa’s exclusion would probably lead to its place among the eight' seeded nations being taken by Argentina. The other seeds are the four British countries, Australia, New Zealand and France. The 16-nation draw would likely be completed by Canada, the United States, Japan, Fiji, the Soviet Union, Rumania, Italy and South Korea.

Mr Kendall-Carpenter said recently the whole competition might have to be reconsidered if South Africa was not included and that participation by some countries would hinge on the republic’s inclusion. The Minister of Recreation and Sport, Mr Moore said last evening that New Zealand would withhold visas, so there was certainly no question of the Springboks participating in World Cup matches in New Zealand.

Australia could kiss goodbye to any aspirations of hosting the 1990 Olympic

Games at Brisbane if the Springboks were among the participating nations, Mr Moore said.

“I suspect Australia would have great difficulty with them going there. Their Brisbane Olympic chances would be non-exis-tent, and their Commonwealth Games aspirations would be non-exis-tent.”

“A Labour Government would withhold visas from a Springbok team coming to New Zealand for the World Cup.”

Mr Moore said he had held general discussions with the chairman of the New Zealand Rugby Union, Mr Ces Blazey, on the World Cup issue. i “I believe in the World Cup. I think it would be great for rugby ... “But it certainly would not be appropriate to have South Africa in it because of their policies. Our position is clear.

“It would not be good for rugby or for the host country to have them. They’re not coming here, that’s clear,” Mr Moore said.