Something rotten in the state of rugby

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Opinion

A damning review from a specially appointed panel will give rugby’s administrators plenty to think about.

It says NZ Rugby lacks the leadership to solve the game’s complex issues, and that New Zealand rugby has too many professional players. It questions the sustainability of the NPC competition.

The panel of former Fonterra executive David Pilkington, former All Blacks captain Graham Mourie, and experienced directors Anne Urlwin and Whaimutu Dewes (Ngati Porou and Ngati Rangitihi) say the appointment process for NZ Rugby’s  board must change and a stakeholder council should be formed.

Their review paints a picture of a dysfunctional organisation effectively hamstrung by its own structure.

The panel believes hard decisions are effectively being kicked down the road because NZ Rugby is afraid to antagonise the provincial unions or even hold them to account for their own spending decisions.

The NPC could only continue in its present form as a fully professional competition with extensive NZR financial support, but Super Rugby clubs were all struggling to make money as well. The panel questions whether New Zealand can support so many professional players and afford the overhead costs of 26 different provincial unions.

The latter statement will be a concern in this district. There have been calls in the past for Poverty Bay and East Coast to merge, but the two unions have always wanted to preserve their own identities.

However, the panel does still see a need for the provincial unions, noting the continuing importance and relevance of their separate identities.

One statement that points the finger strongly at the game’s administrators is the panel’s view that the urgent need for change  is a universal sentiment throughout the sport.

The two key recommendations of their report call for the creation of a professional process to ensure the appointment of an appropriately skilled, high-performing and independent board to govern the organisation, and the creation of a stakeholder council to ensure all key voices across rugby are heard and their interests represented in a collaborative forum.

NZ Rugby chair Dame Patsy Reddy said the board had received the report and was considering all recommendations. They would consult with the member unions and stakeholders to deliver the best possible framework for rugby in Aotearoa New Zealand.

The panel has some hard words to say but if they lead to a better future for the national sport, it is better to have them out in the open and dealt with than swept under the carpet.