Justin Marshall has hit out at Ineos after they walked away from a deal with New Zealand Rugby three years early.
The governing body are suing the chemical producer, who are owned by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, for an alleged breach of contract.
A six-year sponsorship deal was signed in 2022, thought to be worth around NZ$21m a year, but Ineos now want out.
NZR have claimed that they have not paid their first scheduled instalment in 2025 and have duly taken legal action, although both parties will remain in contact over a possible resolution.
Either way, it is an untimely problem for the governing body and it could result in a significant fiscal blow should they not get their way.
Marshall has duly hit out at Manchester United part-owner Ratcliffe and his company for reneging on their original agreement.
‘Put the boot into Ineos’
“We should put the boot into Ineos as well. They agreed a deal and they agreed a deal on what they could sustain over that period of time and now they’re pulling the pin on that,” the All Blacks great said on The Breakdown.
“That’s not professional, that’s not a company that is looking after what they signed up for.”
Marshall was joined on the panel by All Blacks centurion Mils Muliaina, who believes that the situation raises a number of questions around the relevance of the national team on a global level.
“The thing for me is, how popular is the brand? How damaging is it to have a sponsor pull out? I don’t think we’ve had that in the All Blacks days.
“Ford’s gone as well, so is the All Blacks brand as appealing as what it used to be?”
Another All Blacks legend, Jeff Wilson, responded to Muliaina, insisting that the brand is still incredibly strong.
“I think it is funnily enough,” he said. “The brand itself is built on winning and its legacy, and that’s still good enough. Yes, we’re not the number one team in the world.
“I ran into the CEO of the All Blacks Experience at SkyCity and he tells me that the place is still humming, merchandise is flying off the shelves.
“Boats are coming into the harbour, they’re going up the road and they’re buying product, so the brand itself [is fine].
“But when you lose major sponsors after another year when there was a significant loss made by New Zealand Rugby, you have to start thinking about the flow-on effect and impact it has on the game.”
All Blacks jerseys lose Ineos branding
The Ineos branding has been visible on the jerseys of the All Blacks, Black Ferns and both sevens sides, but that will now be removed.
However, Wilson is less concerned about its impact on the national teams and more worried about how it will affect the sport at lower levels.
“One of the reasons for them to go to court was to protect the game, they want to protect the community game,” he said.
“When I look at this, I don’t want this to start impacting where our players, where our foundation comes from – the community game.
“You need to protect that and the moment you start losing that amount of money, and the fact we’re fighting for it [is concerning].
“They’re (NZR) saying there are other players, or other people, surely it should be: ‘Who’s up next?’ If we’re in such demand, who’s up next?”
‘Messy’ situation
Marshall is also concerned about what could transpire in the wake of this spat, with the possibility of losing Ineos’ money creating a huge void in New Zealand Rugby’s coffers.
“It’s messy. The fact that they are fighting for it is because the well isn’t as deep as what it used to be. What we’ve got to think about now is the future of the game,” he said.
“They accounted for those three years and now there’s a hole which needs to be filled, and that hole affects everything.
“Yes, community rugby but keeping our All Blacks and everything else as well, so they can’t afford to just let this slide.
“They need to go in and make sure they secure that money through until they can do a new deal in three years’ time to try and replicate the money they’re going to get through that period.”
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/all-blacks-great-slams-unprofessional-manchester-united-owner-after-reneging-on-new-zealand-rugby-deal
