The battle for future administrative control of our national game has been brewing for the past eight months, with the current board at odds with a push from provincial unions to do a massive board-level overhaul.
The union’s call includes a new structure that would feature nine independent directors, one of whom must have lived experience with te ao Māori in a complex organisational context, one of whom must identify as Pasifika, and at least three members in total to have had a minimum of two years’ experience serving on a provincial union board.
The governance saga will be debated at an NZR special general meeting within the next month - a meeting called for by the provinces.
Ahead of the meeting, Ngāti Porou East Coast Rugby Union (NPECRU) chief executive Leroy Kururangi called for the rival sides to settle their differences and find a workable solution.
“There is a lot of stuff going on up there [NZR HQ] that they need to sort out in terms of the governance,” Kururangi said.
“I try not to get involved, to be honest, just keep getting updated with what is going on.
In his opinion: “It sounds like it is them and us, from what I have seen or heard. It is quite disappointing for your main body.”
Kururangi hoped the special meeting’s outcome would not impact his union too much.
“I think it will affect the PUs [NPC provinces] more than it would Heartland in a bigger way,” he said.
“We just get on with it and for me, take things on the chin and whatever happens, happens.”
When asked what his message would be to whoever makes up the future NZR board, Kururangi said: “Just don’t forget us.
Māori All Blacks and Hurricanes star lock Isaia Walker-Leawere's rugby career began by playing for Ruatoria City. Photo / Neil Reid
“I think that is what we are worried about, if this new board does come in, they may forget about grassroots rugby, which is where everything starts. We all know that that is where our All Blacks started off.
“Everything seems to be the dollar talks more than what is happening down in the grassroots.”
The Heartland side won the 2022 Lochore Cup and last year they made the semifinals of the Meads Cup, pushing eventual champions South Canterbury hard in the clash.
Rugby is a way of life on the East Coast. Photo / Neil Reid
“The goal is to try and improve from last year and make the finals, like every other Heartland season wants to,” he said.
“The first goal is to have a good, solid club season for both of our men and women and hopefully put together a good Heartland team for 2024.”
The start of 2024 has been a lot more stress-free than previous seasons.
Both 2022 and 2023 were impacted by the impact of severe weather; including last year’s Cyclone Gabrielle, while the seasons before that were impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The men’s club competition has swelled to nine teams; including the return of Uawa (who played in the Poverty Bay competition last year due to road damage further up the coast), and also Waimā and Toko United fielding teams again.
Six teams will compete for the region’s women’s club championship.
“It’s a bit of a change from the last few years, to not have to worry about our roads or anything like that,” Kururangi said.
“That’s been really good.”
Kururangi said all the clubs seemed to have good numbers to pick from.
One of our most-loved All Blacks is honoured at Waiapu's home ground at Tikitiki, near Ruatoria, which is named after East Coast legend George Nepia. Photo / Neil Reid
Seven weeks of round-robin games remain until the club season enters its finals stage.
Given employment and housing availability up the East Coast, a growing number of players had moved to Gisborne to live; returning to their clubs up the coast on the weekend.
That was a huge commitment given the spread-out location of clubs on the East Coast.
“Up here, [rugby] is pretty much all that happens in winter,” Kururangi said.
“Our teams just want club rugby to happen and they do whatever they can to get to our games. We’ve probably got half of the coast travelling from Gisborne now to play club rugby for our local teams.
“It’s a big commitment from a lot of our teams. If we could get more employment and housing up here, we could get some more people back here, which would help us out.”
With the increase in club games, one area that has been tested is referee numbers.
“We’ve got a nine-strong men’s club competition this year which gives a bit of a headache when it comes to referees,” Kururangi said.
“But you know what we are like on the coast, we just make it happen and see how we go.
“Like every other union, we are struggling for referees. We have referees who are doing double games but that is probably not new anywhere else.
“We have a hell of a lot of referees on the sidelines,” Kururangi laughed.
Neil Reid is a Napier-based senior reporter who covers general news, features and sport. He joined the Herald in 2014 and has 30 years of newsroom experience.
