Government funding for rugby is at the grassroots level rather than the All Blacks to help create the next generation of great NZ players, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told Breakfast this morning.
She was responding to a question from host Hayley Holt, after All Blacks coach Steve Hansen told a post-match media conference on Saturday night that the government should invest in the team as it was the country's biggest brand.
Asked about that lobbying this morning, Ms Ardern tried to play a straight bat, saying they'd not received any request from New Zealand Rugby.
"It's fair to say we do invest in rugby at the grassroots level, we support the rugby sevens and World Cup bids, in fact there's a bid in for the Women's Rugby World Cup to come here in 2021 and we as a government are really supporting that, it would be amazing," Ms Ardern said.
"I absolutely accept that any good coach is going to advocate for his players but it's not something that is formally on the cards."
But Holt then put her on the hot seat, with a hypothetical question about whether any government would support would be better spent on the grassroots. - or in keeping Beauden Barrett in New Zealand. That brought a laugh from the prime minister.
"That's cruel, who would put that on a prime minister's shoulders?
"Thankfully I don’t have that dilemma at the moment because obviously at the moment where our money goes is the grassroots to create the Beauden Barretts and that's what's really critical, supporting it at that level so we can have these great All Blacks and these great Black Ferns at the moment."
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