This is an extraordinary investment that ratchets up the cynicism on several levels, but here are two that come to mind.
Firstly, have the four Sanzaar countries conveniently left Japan and Fiji out of their club to boost their standing, with neither having any chance of getting into the Rugby Championship any time soon?
Second, what does Qatar get for this $1.5 billion? As mentioned above, it would only be four significant rugby games over eight years.
Six Nations and Sanzaar teams raise $1.5 billion.Credit: PA
Perhaps if everyone involved hadn't signed confidentiality agreements, we'd all be enlightened about the details of this generosity. But in the absence of this information, we can only assume that Qatar is buying something a little more substantial.
Is this money so badly needed that it must be accepted?
It seems an odd question given rugby's well-documented financial struggles in this part of the world, but a lack of cost control is a different matter to increasing revenue.
As everyone knows, Rugby Australia is currently on the cusp of two huge revenue-generating events – the British and Irish Lions tour and the Rugby World Cup – although the 20-80 minority split with World Rugby for Rugby World Cup Australia Ltd, the company set up to deliver the men's and women's tournaments, looks a bit light on Australia's part.
These two events should wipe out RA's current liabilities with something to spare.
On the other hand, New Zealand Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson had this to say in an interview with SENZ on Wednesday: “There has never been more revenue in the [New Zealand] game The game's total revenue now exceeds NZ$330 million ($306 million).
In 2022, NZ Rugby recorded revenues of NZ$270 million, so there has been an explosion in revenue growth for Australia's closest partner.
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Unions in the northern hemisphere, clearly still recovering from the Covid years, have their own challenges, but the dance with Qatar looks more like an attempt to provide a return to investors (private equity firm CVC owns the 14.3 percent of the Six Nations) than not. whatever is best for the game.
Surely an alternative could have been found for the final weekend of the Nations Championship playoffs in the existing rugby cathedrals of Europe, or even in newer territories such as Spain?
Are we to believe that an orderly addition could not have been made that way, which would have given the new concept of the Nations Championship a much greater degree of credibility?
Perhaps the massive sums of money involved will destroy all those reserves in the side, but rugby chiefs can't say they haven't been warned.
Back on the subject of football, these are the words of former Ireland and Manchester United player Roy Keane, when the World Cup was held in Qatar in 2022.
“The World Cup shouldn't be here… …you have a country, how they treat migrant workers, gays… you can't treat people like that.”
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