Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V’landys has teed off at New Zealand Rugby for “mind-blowing hypocrisy” after it filed proceedings against the Australian Rugby League Commission in the High Court of New Zealand on Thursday.
The PNG Chiefs are facing a major courtroom battle before they kick a ball in the NRL after NZR lost patience in stalled negotiations with the ARLC.
NZR is challenging the decision to launch the Chiefs as an expansion club, who will join the NRL in 2028.
The Hamilton-based Chiefs were an inaugural Super Rugby club when the competition launched in 1996, initially named as the Waikato Chiefs.
V’landys says the hypocrisy is mind-blowing, considering the Auckland Blues in 1996 used the NSW Blues name without any consultation or approval. The NSW Blues had been the Blues for in excess of 50 years before that.
He says rugby union is obviously feeling threatened by rugby league in New Zealand, with sell-outs at most rugby league games.
NZR said the Chiefs had built a strong identity and fan base across New Zealand, Australia and internationally over those 30 years and that it had held trademark protection for the club’s logo in Australia since 1998.
The governing body is arguing that an NRL team named the Chiefs would “cause significant confusion and damage.”
NZR claims its views are shared by IP Australia, the Australian Government agency that administers intellectual property rights, and has warned of a “real and tangible danger of confusion” when the ARLC applied for trademark protection.
The PNG Chiefs are set to launch their team and brand on October 21 and NZR said it had been unable to “constructively engage” with the ARLC.
NZR chief executive Steve Lancaster says for 30 years the Chiefs and their players have built an incredibly strong identity that is widely recognised and loved by fans.
Lancaster says they have raised their concerns with the ARLC directly and consistently over the last year in attempting to find a resolution. We now have a responsibility to protect the Chiefs brand.
The Chiefs are one of the most successful clubs in Super Rugby history, winning two titles under Dave Rennie and regularly competing in the finals.
Source: nine.com.au
