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Insurance beef has Tigers withholding Ellis from England
DANIEL LANE
May 30, 2010
WESTS Tigers chief executive Stephen Humphreys says his club will not release Gareth Ellis to play in next month's England-France Test until the Rugby Football League details its insurance arrangements for the forward.
The stand-off follows a furore between England and Souths over that NRL club's initial refusal to release Sam Burgess for the Test.
England coach Steve McNamara tried to bring the issue to a head by naming the pair in his line-up for the June 12 match. Humphreys, however, told The Sun-Herald that his club first wanted to check the insurance cover.
''I understand Souths are the same,'' Humphreys said. ''I wrote to the English Rugby League and said we'd release him for the game but we wanted confirmation of both the travel and insurance arrangements. I received the proposed travel itinerary on Thursday night, but the only outstanding item is the insurance piece.
''Obviously, from our point of view, Gareth is a pretty decent investment and we need to ensure we have some cover for that.''
During the week The Sun-Herald was told Tigers coach Tim Sheens wanted to see how his team was performing before allowing Ellis a release, although the Test was to be played on the weekend his club had the bye. Burgess, however, will miss the Rabbitohs' round 14 match against Brisbane.
While the value of the tug of war has been questioned in some sections of the English media because France are not expected to offer much resistance, MacNamara described the game as a stepping stone for England's 2013 World Cup campaign.
Meanwhile, next May's annual Australia-New Zealand Test is expected to be played in Christchurch following an application by the management of that city's stadium.
The chief executive of the ARL, Geoff Carr, said it had been recognised the Test needed to be played in New Zealand.
''They've redeveloped a lot of stadia for the rugby World Cup in New Zealand and they're obviously keen for events so they can make those stadia work economically,'' Carr said. ''There's a real appetite from New Zealand for us to take the game to Christchurch because it has a redeveloped stadium and they [also] missed out on a Four Nations game [this year].''
Meantime, Beau Ryan has welcomed the imminent arrival of Wade McKinnon at the Wests Tigers even if it does threaten his place in the NRL side.
The former Parramatta fullback will link with his new teammates for the first time on Monday and Ryan, who scored the Tigers' opening try in Friday's 50-6 romp over McKinnon's former side, the Warriors, said acquiring the 29-year-old was a great boost for the team.
''Wade is a top-class player and a great signing for us, and is only going to make us a better side,'' Ryan said. ''I can only worry about my own game and nothing else and whether I play on the wing or at fullback, I don't really mind, I just want to play a part in this team.''
The Tigers' stunning second-half performance saw them post 46 points in 40 minutes against the sorry Warriors.
''I love it when we play well in front of our own fans - we have not been too good at home in recent weeks,'' Ryan said.
DANIEL LANE
May 30, 2010
WESTS Tigers chief executive Stephen Humphreys says his club will not release Gareth Ellis to play in next month's England-France Test until the Rugby Football League details its insurance arrangements for the forward.
The stand-off follows a furore between England and Souths over that NRL club's initial refusal to release Sam Burgess for the Test.
England coach Steve McNamara tried to bring the issue to a head by naming the pair in his line-up for the June 12 match. Humphreys, however, told The Sun-Herald that his club first wanted to check the insurance cover.
''I understand Souths are the same,'' Humphreys said. ''I wrote to the English Rugby League and said we'd release him for the game but we wanted confirmation of both the travel and insurance arrangements. I received the proposed travel itinerary on Thursday night, but the only outstanding item is the insurance piece.
''Obviously, from our point of view, Gareth is a pretty decent investment and we need to ensure we have some cover for that.''
During the week The Sun-Herald was told Tigers coach Tim Sheens wanted to see how his team was performing before allowing Ellis a release, although the Test was to be played on the weekend his club had the bye. Burgess, however, will miss the Rabbitohs' round 14 match against Brisbane.
While the value of the tug of war has been questioned in some sections of the English media because France are not expected to offer much resistance, MacNamara described the game as a stepping stone for England's 2013 World Cup campaign.
Meanwhile, next May's annual Australia-New Zealand Test is expected to be played in Christchurch following an application by the management of that city's stadium.
The chief executive of the ARL, Geoff Carr, said it had been recognised the Test needed to be played in New Zealand.
''They've redeveloped a lot of stadia for the rugby World Cup in New Zealand and they're obviously keen for events so they can make those stadia work economically,'' Carr said. ''There's a real appetite from New Zealand for us to take the game to Christchurch because it has a redeveloped stadium and they [also] missed out on a Four Nations game [this year].''
Meantime, Beau Ryan has welcomed the imminent arrival of Wade McKinnon at the Wests Tigers even if it does threaten his place in the NRL side.
The former Parramatta fullback will link with his new teammates for the first time on Monday and Ryan, who scored the Tigers' opening try in Friday's 50-6 romp over McKinnon's former side, the Warriors, said acquiring the 29-year-old was a great boost for the team.
''Wade is a top-class player and a great signing for us, and is only going to make us a better side,'' Ryan said. ''I can only worry about my own game and nothing else and whether I play on the wing or at fullback, I don't really mind, I just want to play a part in this team.''
The Tigers' stunning second-half performance saw them post 46 points in 40 minutes against the sorry Warriors.
''I love it when we play well in front of our own fans - we have not been too good at home in recent weeks,'' Ryan said.
