I think that what makes people jump on their high horses in some countries is the attitude that "you need us because we're the best, and without us your nothing, so gived us what we want", but the reality is that was not the intention of Steve Tew at all. It wasn't meant as a threat as much as pointing out the reality, that the NZRU cannot afford to take the financial slaughtering every four years, and that will probably apply to a majority of the unions in the RWC.

Overall I think the meeting went as well as can be expected. I hope that there is some middle ground, as it is clearly very important for the game of rugby that the NZRU makes money to fund the game internationally, it just can't be to the detriment of existing unions who rely on sponsorship to be competitive.