Rugby crashes WC party

A landmark deal, quietly struck between the SARU and FIFA World Cup Local Organising Committee Chief Executive Danny Jordaan, allows for South Africa to play a high-profile rugby match with little perceived effect on the football tournament.

In a feast for French sports fan, the rugby match is scheduled for June 12 (local time), the day after France meet Uruguay in Cape Town following the World Cup kick-off earlier in the day when South Africa open the tournament in Johannesburg against Mexico.

"We're very grateful to the LOC [World Cup organising committee] and SARU for making this happen because it's a great boost for the city to be able to host two major sporting events within 24 hours of each other," Western Province Rugby chief executive Rob Wagner told reporters.

The Australian Football League and National Rugby League hit the panic button last year amid fears their respective competitions could be shut down for up to six months during a World Cup potentially held in Australia.

In what became a public relations own goal for Football Federation Australia, Aussie Rules boss Andrew Demetriou upped the spoiling stakes in Australia's bid for the 2018 or 2022 World Cup claiming an AFL season could be axed and clubs would die.

Demetriou claimed FFA had not communicated requirements and possible restrictions on stadia used by AFL teams during a season.

"It would probably mean we would have to cancel the season," Demetriou said of Australia hosting a World Cup.

"The cost is a monumental cost and I'm talking hundreds of millions of dollars.

"And secondly, it would probably mean some clubs which rely on the seven or eight million dollar distribution from the AFL, there's no way they could be sustained."

The SARU agreement with the FIFA World Cup establishes a precedent that could allow for AFL and NRL to play games during a tournament held in Australia if suitable stadiums could be found.

An agreement on whether South Africa could host a potential Super 14 final during the World Cup has yet to be reached by South African rugby bosses who claimed they had contingency plans if World Cup venues were unavailable for their sport.