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This is Sportsfix howard By News Talks d be.

Welcome on into the Sports Fix podcast.

My name's Darcy water Grave.

This is all the sport you need to know about for a day, that day being Wednesday, the eighth of October twenty twenty five.

Lined up for you.

We have got the chief executive of and you's down Rugby Players Association, Rob Nickel, as we look to rugby three sixty, where it sits, where it stands, where it's going.

Not their concerns are.

I've got an attitude and I'm going to share that with you.

Surprise surprise, because basically seven all Blacks release for the NPC quarterfinals.

It's not enough.

And we'll be joined in the chamber by our to our rugby pod host mister Ross Carl as we looked across some of the biggest sporting issues of the day.

That's our master plans.

So it's head go.

Let's have a quick listen now to some throat noises in sport today, often United kicking off football's inaugural FIFA Women's champions Cup tonight against Wuhan jun Da, China.

The tournament sees six club continental winners play each other, with often representing the Oceania region.

Coach Ben Bake thinks he knows the opposition.

They're not so sure about the vagaries of China.

It's out of the opposition.

We've watched them intantly know for the past four or five months, so we kind of know down inside and out.

But yeah, obviously lots of unknowns to China.

Ricky Henry d Kii Ferns coach has named five debutants and its stoked that Ivana, Lower Tahiti and Taysha Canasio want to represent in the Pacific Championship as opposed to one of the island nations.

The Birs players themsels available for Julblin Cross some wins and so they chose us and I'm really excited about that.

And yet more like an answer is that they go there and playing this before the black and white jerseys and Vett mccauls and jury hasn't been given any boundaries at all around her coaching methods out of the Constellation Cup and northern to it.

Considering the Amester Dame Noline TAU has found ourselves and this is quite surprising.

So they've basically given you no parameters of it.

No, no, not so much.

Again, I haven't been pretty silos conversations and obvious the part of.

An employment mine has been put me through the.

High performance manager.

This is what we're preparing for a chick match.

The voices of the people in sports News throat gargling.

If you will use and avidion, it's sports X with Dancie valde Greve.

We're joined now by head of in Newland Rugby Players Association, Rob Nickel, as we take a look at the emerging monster that is Rugby three sixty, He joins us.

Now, Rob, welcome, What can you tell us about the current state of affairs with rugby three sixty?

What's going on?

Yeah, Look, it's been around for a bit longer than people realize, probably a couple of years.

And if it's not three sixty, it's a new sevens competition or it'll be another competition somewhere.

I think if you step back a little bit, the first things first, eye lock and go.

You know, it's great that people with money look at rugby and see an opportunity to invest and want to be a part of it because that's a good thing for the sport.

Then I kind of say, well, why would they want to put their money in and do something different.

It must be because they don't think what has been done is good.

And that's not.

A bad thing.

From the playoffs respect because particularly when we look at the Northern Hemisphere, we look at their club game and how much rugby the guys am to play in our crowded the season structure is.

You know, this is quite a disruptor what they're proposing, basically fully fledged.

It's a sixteen game competition where they're saying they will free players up to play international rugby, particularly in the Northern Hemisphere, which is quite a different model to what happens now.

So it's causing everyone to have a good thing.

And then when you look at the money.

That they're talking about, it's really significant, you know, it's really significant, more money in terms of investing in players and coaches and competitions than has been done.

Before in the game.

And so you look at all that and you say, well, it's not a bad thing that people are interested in.

They're coming along and create and impact.

But then the reality is of will it come off, will it actually happen?

And then the bigger picture for the game is good for the game, and there's just a lot of question marks around all those sort of things.

So from a player association perspective, we don't think it's a bad thing, but there are a lot of questions that we've asked the three sixty crew and that we've put on the table at the players that haven't been answered that you leave a lot of doubt and uncertainty around where this is all going to end up, or if a player or a coach is looking to commit to it, what they're actually committing to.

Right, So what are those questions that begs that question?

What are you looking at?

Primarily what are your concerns for the players and for their coaches that might get engaged?

Well well down for asking the question, because every time we've talked about this, no one's actually asked us, well, what would from a plaza or what are you interested in?

And I suppose it's quite all encompassing.

You know, for a new competition like this, the first thing is like who's behind it?

You know, what's their rugby pedigree, what's their rugby knowledge?

What's their sports knowledge, what's the level of capital they have, what it helps, how big a pockets, how realistic what they're putting forward, can they fund it?

What's the business plan?

So I've asked all those questions and we've got a few answers back, but there's a lot of a lot of unknowns in those kind of areas.

Who's going to own the teams, where are the team's going to be based, what's the competition structure.

We understand that, but we don't know where the players are going to be playing.

We don't know their travel arrangements.

We don't know a lot of stuff that you would want to know if you're a player.

You don't know who you're or coaches are going to be, who your high performance staff are going to be.

We don't know the names of the teams.

We don't know whether the team's going to represent regions or countries or areas.

You know, there's just a lot of those kind of questions can't be answered.

So if you're a player looking at this, you're like, Okay, I'm kind of committing to a competition, but I kind of don't quite know what I'm committing to.

And so you're taking a bit of a leap of faith.

And then there's the there's a contractual stuff.

You know, what's my insurance, what's my wage, what's my guarantees, my leave all the kind of things that are enormous and frankly, looking at a job would want to know.

And in some respects they've been quite clear on what they intend that to look like, but the actual specifics they're still looking to nail down.

So once again, quite a few questions in.

That kind of space, ye comfortable, sorry, Rob, that they're actually going about it.

Answer these questions not just like pencil them in, but like write it out, and so you know exactly what's going on.

Because there's the head of the Rugby Players Association.

Your first point of care is the athletes.

And these are a number of opening designs questions.

Aren't they one hundred percent?

And what we've been saying in the plats is lot If this is something you're genuinely interested, as with all overseas opportunities or any opportunity, first of all, make sure you're getting good independent advice and where there if you want some support, but you need good advice around it, which any player looking to go to Japan or France or England.

We're well set up to cater for that.

We're very connected to our accredited agents and are working with the plans on an individual basis.

We're all sharing information, so get good advice.

Secondly, eyes wide open, and the reality is we don't have a lot of answers to those questions.

So if you're going to go with this, you're taking quite a big punt.

And obviously the announcement today, but also common sense dictates, you know, if you want to play for your country, then you're if you're a New Zealand plant, it's no different than playing in Japan or France.

You're not eligible for the All Backs or all the Black fans anymore.

So you're you're giving away international rugby.

So it's just depends on the players.

Their age is stage, where they're at.

You know, if it's a practical example, Darcy, if it's a player who's you know, played super rugby, played for the All Blacks, maybe gone to Japan, maybe played three or four years up there, and they're looking and saying, do I resign with Japan?

Do I head back to New Zealand?

Do I go over to France or the UK, and then three sixty come along and you're like, or do I just do something completely different like this?

And then when you look at the money they're offering, it's really significant.

So there will be players, and there are players who have said, you know what, actually, at this stage in my career or given where I'm at, I'm happy to take the risk and I'll take a punt that this might get up and running for what's on the table and the chance to be part of something new, even though I might be potentially committing to something that I don't really quite know what I'm committing to.

Ditecting the sporting agenda, It's Sportsfix with Darcy Walter Grave.

Release them All All on the Hounds.

Scott Robertson announced the day that he's released seven all Blacks from his wide As squad for this weekend's MPC quarter Finals.

Wonderful Rugby guaranteed, Whykato, I'll get a trio of all Blacks back, Antonina Brown, Luke Jacobson and Samma Pennet.

Few They're releasing the hooker Brody McAllister are back to Canterbury.

Did an Archie get Josh Lord?

They have plenty, get Basilio Tossi and Taveta Mafalao, which is wonderful for the concerned provinces.

Let them all go, though, Let them all go.

We've seen right the way throughout the international season so far a number of players that have needed game time.

And I know players get injured, and the last thing you want to do before the Northern Tour is lose some of your key players to injury.

But I want to see all of the players concerned playing the game that they love, representing their provinces at that level for the quarter finals, getting some game time under their belt, learning the basics of rugby all over again.

After being swamped with way too much information, pressure and stress through the Rugby Championship, cut loose, play some rugby, enjoy yourself if that's not the best way to recuperate, and come at the Northern Tour with a fresh and new attitude toward the game of rugby.

I don't know what is so great.

Seven players are coming back, but it should be the whole shooting match.

Let them all come back, let them play, We'll see what happens.

The chamber is now in session on SPORTSFIXX.

Let's swing on into the chamber now, and we're joined by our Rugby pod host mister Ross Carl course, I does that show on all the sky platforms with Jip of the Skipper, James Parsons, Chip of the haircut.

I should call them and bring it tickets.

Hall good a us.

How you're going must be nice dealing with someone with you know, not so much of an ego, right right.

That's why you're talking about yourself.

Yeah, okay, fine, fine, fine, are you great to have you in the chamber talking a couple of big topics.

Obviously Rugby three sexty is the big one today.

Eight unions have said yeah, nah, you join that and your curtains for international representation, which makes sense I suppose.

But you look at Wales have said we agree, but they've not put their name to an Argentina same same because these systems are such a mess.

But this is an understandable reaction, isn't it.

Yeah, Look, the ranks were always going to close on these guys.

It was never going to happen when you look across European rugby the amount of English clubs that have gone under recently, the way the Welsh clubs are in all sorts of trouble, the whole unions and all sorts of trouble.

Rugby is trying to save itself and the last thing it wants is someone else coming in and being a parasite on its players.

And even if they say you can play test footy, put something, you know, just to cat amongst the pigeons, that's not really needed right now as far as the unions are concerned.

There's a long history of the union's closing ranks right even it might be the Northern Hemisphere closing ranks on the Southern Hemisphere ideas this time around it's the entire kitten gaboodle, everyone closing ranks on people coming in with money they don't know enough about against the league that you know, appears to be a bit of a side show at the moment, even if it's got significant corporate backing and the promise of money out of Saudi in the States and all sorts of other places, it was never going to happen the way they wanted it to, because Rugby will close ranks to preserve its current state and for the people who are in it to stay powerful.

Dare I say, though, and I'd rather it didn't happen.

But let's look forward and let's understand the concept of upsetters in world sport.

Now.

For far too long, Northern Hemisphere world rugby, the home unions have had way too much power.

So the international program, even though they're trying to write it, which has been nigh on im possible, this might be the punchment noose they actually need.

So plainly, they're freaking out because money doesn't talk, It.

Screens, right, Yeah, that's right.

And maybe this, like you say, is the motivation.

Maybe they can upset themselves rather than having someone else come in to upset them and realize, look weedy to innovate.

I mean, this group has said they're going to innovate, they haven't really laid out exactly how they're going to innovate.

Taking rugby to the new camp, taking rugby to the United States hardly seems like something that's going to save rugby to me.

Bringing in a bunch of rugby league players and grabbing a bunch of journeymen who aren't connected to test footy doesn't seem like rugby's savior to me.

It's going to have to really secure someone big.

You know, they need to go out and get an artie Savia, a seer Calisi.

They need to get someone who's big with a following that people in the world will tune in to say, hey, this is real rugby because that guy is elite.

They need that.

We've always had issues with players that they're all about the jersey.

That's sort they want to do, and then they go and take sabbatical after sabbatical to line their part.

So right, so well, yeah, what do we do with these guys?

They might just look at it and go, oh, it's all well and good, and let's look at Lester Anuku as well.

He went away to line his pockets.

He's back now because he's so young, but served up with something like that as a twenty four to twenty five year old promising rugby player and they're talking millions for a short amount of entertainment versus the jersey.

I can get why people.

Might lean into it, right, yeah, but you need to have something behind you to get really big money, don't you.

You need to won a World Cup, you need to have got to those places.

So for a guy like Lister fying Nuku, he found a way to get good money in France and then come back and chase his dream.

But if he wants to get really good money, you want to be a World Cup winner, You want to have scored that try in the World Cup final.

You want those kind of things.

And you know, unless the world of rugby opens up to Rugby three sixty, then you know you're not going to put yourself in that position to receive that kind of cash from Rugby three sixty or anywhere unless you win a World Cup.

That, above all else, is the thing that makes a legend.

And so that's really where I'm sure players heads will be at.

And plus, like you say, rugby has created opportunities for people to line in their pockets.

You know, Ardie Savia is off to Japan for six months.

We've seen multiple players go and do that.

Richie Wong has gone off for a number of years to make sure that he's sorted before he comes back to chase that World Cup dream that still appears to be above everything else.

Rugby set up systems for guys to get violent.

None of these guys are on Lebron James money.

None of these guys again, you know what's Lebron's getting fifty million US and it's twenty third season in the in the NBA.

You know, he's earned over a billion dollars in checks from the franchises.

He's played for billion New Zealand dollars over twenty three years.

I mean, that's real money, isn't it.

Sports people in New Zealand and are they going to walk to what Ardie sav or Steven Adams.

So I think there's one way, and you don't tend to get a lot of concussion and basketball.

I'm glad.

I'm glad he brought that art Ross because this Lebron story is fascinating because he's basically he's clipped it on his big move across from Cleveland Cavaliers to the Heat.

He said a similar thing.

He's launched that on social media and everyone thought it was a retirement decision.

And it's thrown the last home game through the roof.

Price wise, you know, it's commenced and it's all about Kanye Fullger Fulger.

It's that responsible, isn't it.

It's amazing, isn't it.

Here's a guy, like I said, it's inn over a billion dollars on the court.

He's got a Nike lifetime deal which reportedly is worth a billion dollars.

He owns part of Liverpool, you know.

He he's got money and all sorts of things all over the place.

It's got a production house, He's got all of this stuff.

What he doesn't need to do is piss office fan and piss off the general public by making them tune in, even if only on x or another social media platform, to find out what his next decision is going to be, only to find out that he's drinking Hennessy, you know, And good on him.

I'm pretending I had to be some high rolling liquor like that, not like a standard no frills brand you might find at the local bottler.

Yeah.

Look, and you know, good on him, you know, because if two billion dollars is enough for you, go chase three billion.

But you know he's done something stupid, then, like you say, you know, the price of those tickets of almost a thousand New Zealand dollars to go and see the last Lakers game of the season at home because it might just be the last time you get to see Lebron James in person.

What an incredible power that is to be able to send the entire basketball world into a flap by just promising that you're going to make some sort of decision on a social media platform without saying what it's going to be.

It's quite incredible when you look at a guy like that, the power that being a superstar with that kind of longevity has.

But with that comes responsibility.

And what you don't want to do now is have a person turn up on that last game.

Lebron James is injured and you paid one thousand dollars for the tickets and that's on him.

It's kind of obscene.

I saw this thing once.

It's basically, if you get to a billion dollars, you just get a certificate saying congratulations, I won capitalism and you're not't allowed to have any more.

I mean, you know, a billion dollars, how far do you go over crying out loud?

There he goes out of control.

Right, Yeah, it's amazing, and you know it's probably not enough.

You know, if you once once you're dealing in that kind of change, you know it changes it completely, doesn't it.

He will be looking to expand his empire, to do a Jay Z and Doctor Dre and all these people across pop media world have done.

You know, the geners, the Kardashians.

All of them have been able to take celebrity and turn it into something incredibly, incredibly rich.

And Lebron James is showing that he's very adept at that, and he's willing to do very scrupulous things, tease people, get healed excitement to sell a bottle of bottle of alcohol.

It's quite incredible.

I'm quite upset with you, Ross Carl, that you can just roll all these celebrity names off just like that, Like please, you're bigger than that, you're better than that, you make you're too old for that.

Ain't your Ross Carl.

Don't tell me you aren't watching Keeping Up with the Kardashians.

And that's it.

We're going to close the doors now.

We're going to throw Ross Carl out before I always grade to cord Ito with your old school.

Thanks very much for your time.

May you go well?

Cheers there you.

Too, leading a vix.

We've got just the ticket.

It's Sports Fix News Talks.

IVY and there it is just like a more one.

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It's been the eighth of October twenty twenty five.

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