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.
