ROSEMARY ABBOTT | Sport
SMOOTH SAILING
Super Rugby bosses have been counting their blessings this week.
With the cancellation of racing at Lyttelton Harbour’s Sail GP event on Saturday, Mark Robinson, CEO of New Zealand Rugby and his executives at NZR, expressed gratitude that rugby is generally unaffected by marine mammals.
“Well, I am quite pleased we don’t have to worry about dolphins or whales when it comes to professional rugby,” Robinson said, breathing a sigh of relief.
In recent years Super Rugby has had an element of “stop-starting”, mostly in response to a pandemic, but also with stoppages in play by match officials.
“I suppose that’s the advantage of playing our sport in a closed off stadium on dry land, rather than in the ocean,” said Robinson, who has been more preoccupied with the pace of scrum resets than with any aquatic interruptions.
The dolphins, renowned for their unpredictable behaviour, made waves when they forced the cancellation of the first day of the SailGP event in Christchurch. This decision left fans frustrated and the organisers scratching their heads as no races were staged in what was meant to be a full day of racing.
“It’s just classic, isn’t it?” remarked Robinson, his amusement evident. “You plan for everything in sports management, but you can never anticipate dolphins staging a protest,” he added, chuckling at the absurdity of the situation and genuinely relieved to not be questioned about poor decisions being made in the sport of rugby for once.
More to come.
Big fan of the Whakataki? Head over to the support page and become a Whakataki backer. You can also follow us on Insta.
