The IRB is Peopled with Morons...

by Don, With Malice...

Ok... so the Rugby World Cup begins in a little over 15 hours (at the time of writing). Held in France, it promises to be a ripper of an event. All the great teams are there, and even tho' the All Blacks look the goods at the moment, there are perhaps 9 teams that could 'conceivably' win it.

So why is the International Rugby Board walking around with their collective head stuck firmly up their collective arse?

The IRB wants to promote Rugby Union as a world game, so it's very difficult for me to understand the idiocy in regards to the way they have dealt with the world's media. Early on, a media collective involving Reuters, AP et al asked to be allowed to take as many as one photo per second in each match. I can understand why the IRB countered with an offer of 40-50 photos a match, even if I don't necessarily agree with it.

However, upon arriving in France, the IRB required press to sign an agreement in which they'd be allowed to take no more than 6 photos per match, if they want accreditation for the RWC.

Reuters, Agence France-Presse, Associated Press and Getty Images (amongst others) responded with boycotting of the event until the impasse is resolved - something that seriously damages the credibility of the IRB.

The IRB has claimed that they're trying to protect the rights of broadcasters who have exclusive rights to the event, but this is bullshit. The governing body of rugby is basically falling over itself in it's money-grubbing.

Still, if that's the case - then it's backfiring, and badly. This will severely damage the coverage that the corporate sponsors of the event will receive... something that can only hurt the Rugby World Cup, and rugby in general.

Worth noting that the IOC, and FIFA do not have any limitations on the number of photos media can take.

IRB: get your sh*t together...

You have 15 hours & 36 minutes, and counting.