The Canberra Vikings could be slapped with an unwanted bill by the Australian Rugby Union after the National Rugby Championship lost its major sponsor this week.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Buildcorp pulled its funding after the the ARU failed to commit to a women's XVs National Championship, as had been a request by Buildcorp co-founder Josephine Sukkar.
While the sponsorship figure has been reported to be worth as much $1million, it is understood the actual amount is around a fifth of that and closer to $200,000.
Canberra Vikings chairman John McGrath said he was made aware of the situation three weeks ago and conceded the club could foot the bill.
"The Buildcorp money goes into administration whereas the broadcast money pays for flights and accommodation, so it's not as dramatic as we first thought and we don't anticipate much change," McGrath said.
"The ARU are working assiduously trying to find a replacement. What happens without one? I'm not sure. At very worst there is a participation agreement which allows the ARU to charge a participation fee to meet those costs."
Vikings Group boss Anthony Hill agreed there will likely be some additional costs for the club, but is confident it will be "business as usual" when the season kicks off in September.
"We have not been notified of any [costs] to date but you'd think there would be an additional cost to all licences," Hill said.
"It's a little bit of a curve ball but nothing we won't be able to adjust to and cope with, it's more of an issue with the ARU than for us.
"It hasn't flowed down to us yet, so as far as we're concerned it's business as usual. We don't see it changing our plans trying to field the most competitive and best development team in the competition."
The removal of funding from Buildcorp comes at an interesting time, given that Sukkar has ties to the ARU.
Sukkar is the President of Australian Women's Rugby but also sits on an ARU nomination committee.
The committee: "assesses candidates based on their skills and experience and the Board's requirements and makes recommendations to Members at the AGM for the election of six Directors".
While Sukkar's decision to cut funding might be a business-based decision more than anything else, there is speculation of division within the ranks of the ARU after this latest move.
McGrath said he'd never seen Australian rugby in as much trouble during his 50 years in the game and blamed administrators turning their back on the grassroots.
"Most of us said 15 years ago you can't continue polishing the leaves at the top end without fertilizing the roots or the tree will fall over," McGrath said.
"The only way is up from here, things have to improve because we finally have people admitting there's a problem and you need to do that before you can come up with solutions.
"Have they left it too late? The task is Everest-like in my opinion, we've allowed other sports to develop right under our noses out of pure arrogance.
"Rugby is in danger of the becoming an Olympic sport where nobody cares about the competitions and only watches the national team every four years.
"Right now rugby is the game that's played in heaven but watched in hell."
