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Sports |
Holmes a Court for PNG league
AUSTRALIAN multi-millionaire businessman Peter Holmes a Court
has supported Papua New Guinea’s bid for a review of next year’s
Rugby League World Cup draw, and the underdogs while at the same
time ridiculing the Australian Rugby League commercial interests.
Holmes a Court, joint owner of NRL
club South Sydney with actor Russell Crowe, said he would rather
see smaller Pacific Island nations like PNG make to the World Cup
finals – just as Iraq has done in Asian Cup soccer at the weekend
– than the heavies like Australia and England, AAP reported on
Sunday.
He appealed to Rugby League World Cup organisers to restructure
the draw as he and Crowe spend their own money trying to promote
the game overseas.
“I would ask the ARL if there is any chance they can re-think the
structure of the World Cup,” Holmes a Court said.
“It’s a year away. Olympic Games have been changed in less time
than this when there’s been boycotts and other things.
“Please, please reconsider. Look at the people of Iraq and their
soccer team ... we’re going to deny Papua New Guinea the chance to
dance and to cheer their boys on? I’d rather see Papua New Guinea
and Samoa battle it out until the 79th minute than Australia and
Papua New Guinea, over in three minutes.”
The man who ran the successful 1995 rugby league World Cup did it
for free.
There were no comments from PNG Rugby Football League yesterday on
the Holmes a Court comments.
PNG’s protest about the 2008 rugby league World Cup draw had
earlier drawn support from Great Britain rugby league captain Paul
Sculthorpe in May when he questioned whether rugby league should
bother staging a World Cup at all.
Sculthorpe said only Australia, New Zealand and England had a
chance of winning the tournament in Australia next year.
“No wonder PNG are up in arms about it – talk about drawing the
short straw,” he said.
“Rugby league is the national game there and they are looking at
this as a slap in the face.”
In April this year the PNG Rugby Football League said PNG was
lodging a protest to the International Rugby League board over its
2008 World Cup draw.
“It is like sending the lamb to the slaughter house,” then PNGRFL
boss Sir Bob Sinclair said of the draw which pitted PNG against
the super powers of the game - Australia, New Zealand and
England - in Pool A.
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