Greater focus needed on provincial game, says Peters

The "new boy" on the New Zealand Rugby Union board, former Northland Rugby Union chairman Wayne Peters, will be a vocal supporter of grassroots rugby in his tenure on the board.
Peters was elected to replace the outgoing Maori representative, Paul Quinn, last Thursday, becoming one of 10 voting members on the board. He aims to strengthen Maori rugby and provincial rugby during his tenure.
The Whangarei lawyer and former Otago and Northland representative is hoping to make a positive impression on the country's rugby future.
"I think it's fairly well known in rugby circles that we've got a challenging time ahead of us if rugby is to retain its premier position as the sport of choice in New Zealand," Peters said.
When the Northland Rugby Union board, chaired by Peters for three years, voluntarily stood down en masse in September last year, few would have believed he would have made such a startling and speedy comeback.
The board acted to strengthen its bid to remain in the Air New Zealand Cup, after the NZRU had proposed dumping Northland and Tasman from the competition.
Peters believes the NZRU would be better placed putting more of its energies into re-energising rugby in the provinces.
"The provinces are seeking clear direction that they are still included in the framework of New Zealand rugby and I think in recent times there has been a perception that's not reality, that it hasn't been the case," he said.
He has similar ideas for Maori rugby, which he also believes has been left out in the cold.
"It's highly unfortunate that there's no (NZ Maori) programme in 2009 and I definitely have a view about it and I said at the AGM that Maori rugby has been diluted and ... that the profile of Maori rugby is being diminished in recent times and I think it's an unfortunate trend."
Peters believes Maori rugby should remain within the NZRU but feels it should be getting better service.
"Essentially there's 33,000 Maori playing rugby in New Zealand which is a huge percentage of the country's playing numbers and one of the greatest challenges is representing them."
One of Peters' aims is to connect the bottom end to the top end of New Zealand rugby.
"I think everyone realises that rugby's got some financial challenges ahead, we have the iconic status of the All Blacks, who provide significant revenue for New Zealand rugby ... (but) provincial rugby doesn't pay for itself and relies, therefore, on money generated by the All Blacks.
"Having said that I feel that how to handle New Zealand rugby is to have the admission that the grass roots are still important to the development of professional players and, if we do anything that confines the grassroots of rugby here, then we'll be worse off for it," he said.
Peters has some ideas about what he wants to achieve during his time on the board but is playing his cards close to his chest at the moment.
"You'll have to stand back and watch ... what can I do personally by myself may be little but, with the support of others, I think we can achieve plenty," he said.