Te Puni set to leave Hurricanes at season's end

The Wellington Rugby Football Union will have two chief executives, one to steer the Hurricanes and the other will oversee Wellington club and community rugby. Photo / Getty Images

Hurricanes chief executive James Te Puni will stand down at the end of the season as Wellington Rugby begins a restructure.

The Wellington Rugby Football Union announced today that the restructure has brought about the creation of two chief executives, one to steer the Hurricanes and the other will oversee Wellington club and community rugby. Te Puni will continue in both roles as part of the transition before stepping aside.

"I'm looking forward to seeing the Hurricanes succeed, but after four years and with the role being split in the new model, it's time for me to do something new. In particular, my young children are excited at Dad not being at rugby 40 weekends per year," he said in a statement.

It's understood Te Puni would have been fighting a losing battle had he opted to pursue one of the new positions and there are further sweeping changes in store for the cash-strapped union following a recent three-month internal review.

The restructuring will also mean nine full-time jobs and one part-time position will be disestablished, with five new roles being created.

There are 37 full-time and part-time people (excluding players) currently employed by Wellington Rugby, who own a 50 per cent stake in the Hurricanes, with five of those individuals being affected by the restructure.

WFRU chairman Iain Potter said the board had to make some tough decisions from the financial results of the review and those were not related to staff performance or the results of last year's woeful ITM Cup campaign.

"These decisions are, however, necessary in creating a sustainable business model that will develop the best outcome for our organisation's future, and the game of rugby in Wellington," Potter said.

"We certainly value the commitment and integrity each individual within this organisation has shown and it is extremely disappointing that we have to say goodbye to a number of those hard-working people."

Potter said Te Puni had guided Wellington Rugby well, and most notably, ended four years of losses with improved financial performance over the first three years of his tenure.

"However, we have now found ourselves in a challenging financial position as a result of past contractual arrangements and softening demand around Sevens Wellington," Potter said.

The organisation is set to post a loss in the vicinity of $750,000 for the 2014 financial year.

"With this new model we expect 2015 to continue to be a tough year for the union financially, but the plan sees us return to profit in 2016 and beyond.

"This has been a very challenging process for the board, our staff, and their families.

Although it is unfortunate we have had to make these changes, we feel it has been necessary to ensure a successful and sustainable future for Wellington rugby," Potter said.