NZR will do code big favour if it takes lead in changing the game

Four years ago, NZ Rugby chief executive Steve Tew threatened to pull out of this season's World Cup because of the financial restrictions imposed on member nations. Photo / Jason Oxenham

New Zealand needs to leave the World Rugby umbrella.

It needs to do a modern Webb Ellis and bring the game up to date without the continual handbrake from global administrators.

Rugby's progression to professionalism was stymied for too long yet now the pay for play game is as standard as online journalism.

The sport needs to take the next step and break away from the snail-like ruling body.

Dealing with the confusing patterns of Sanzar must be difficult enough without adding a layer of administrative inertia on top.

Four years ago, NZ Rugby chief executive Steve Tew threatened to pull out of this season's World Cup because financial restrictions imposed on member nations cost millions of dollars with incoming tours halted and restrictions on sponsorship arrangements.

It's time to ramp up that warning and go in even harder.

The All Blacks will defend their title in October before officials put the hammer down on working through law changes they hope to introduce in 2018.

2018! Forget it. Rugby's laws have been ruptured for some time and the game needs to respond to its audience before the next generation of spectators moves into the frame.

Rugby should learn from the NFL in the States and NRL in Australia, codes who discover things which need tweaking and react quickly. Codes evolve and change and those in charge of the framework in and around their sport have to keep pace.

Instead as we've seen with rugby this year, member nations are being asked to canvass their constituents about law changes before they present those ideas to a World Rugby committee.

They will be considered, mulled over, tested and trialed before a tentative 2018 introduction.

In the meantime we have to endure two more seasons with huge differences in the way the game is played and refereed in both hemispheres.

It's clear parts of rugby - especially the breakdown, scrum and offside interpretations - are foggy aspects of an excessively complicated law book.

The game needs to connect better with its audience and that's not going to happen while World Rugby is in charge of the agenda.

In seasons outside the World Cup schedule, NZ Rugby does not need incoming June tours because they interrupt the Super Rugby series while end of year tours up north have a ho-hum attachment.

NZ Rugby needs to put all its clout into Sanzar and make it the pre-eminent rugby body south of the equator.

It can devise a contemporary law book, create a shorter Super series where every game means something in a tournament which allows for players' conditioning and also arrange an invitational test schedule which fits into the calendar.

It might cost New Zealand an invitation to one World Cup but when the rest of the globe sees what can be done to rugby, they will be clamouring to join the new world.