Nearly a week into New Zealand's coronavirus lockdown and it's clear that difficult times can be made easier to accept with good leadership and communication – kudos, then, in particular to the increasingly impressive Jacinda Ardern and her Government.
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All of us know what we need to do to attempt to contain the pandemic and while the staring at a limited variety of four walls is challenging, the clarity of thought from Prime Minister Ardern and Finance Minister Grant Robertson et al helps immensely.
Ardern was asked a few days ago whether she was scared. "No, because we have a plan," she replied.
The alternative – an information vacuum and so-called leaders going AWOL – is unsettling. Fortunately, a similar style of leadership and organisation is being shown by New Zealand Rugby, the controller of our national game, which is being forced to make some difficult decisions as it mitigates against the ongoing financial ramifications of the virus which has stopped sport nearly everywhere.
Chief among those are pay cuts for our professional coaches – including All Blacks coach Ian Foster and his team – and our professional players. This is in line with what is happening around the world, including in the United Kingdom, where Premiership players are being asked to go without 25 per cent of their salaries.
But whereas New Zealand's players, including high-profile playmaker Beauden Barrett and hooker Dane Coles, say they are happy to do their bit, the reaction from some of their counterparts in the UK is very different and a legal battle may be brewing.
There are differences between the countries in terms of how players are contracted – New Zealand Rugby has a huge advantage in terms of being a central contractor with an excellent relationship with the New Zealand Rugby Players' Association.
But there must be something to be said for communication too, and the way Foster, Barrett and Coles have reacted in public will be not only comforting to NZ Rugby but also, to a lesser extent, New Zealand itself. The goodwill on both sides is plain to see and all of the country's employers and businesses should take note because those putting their faith in their people will likely recover quicker from a financial viewpoint than those that don't.
"There's a real willingness of those involved in the game to get behind to do whatever it takes to make sure it survives," Foster said in an interview with Newstalk ZB's Martin Devlin.
"As an employee of New Zealand Rugby, we're all facing some tough times," Barrett said. "We're all in it together."
Barrett said he would even be prepared to reveal the extent of his pay cut.
Beauden Barrett. Photo / Photosport
Yes, they are very well paid individuals earning six-figure salaries, but they aren't immune – excuse the pun – to the uncertainty that we are all going through.
They have bills to pay too, and if anyone is going to find an unknown period of what is effectively home detention challenging, it is a professional athlete who thrives on competition and physical activity and who knows his window for earning is limited and closing by the week.
NZ Rugby haven't always been known as impeccable communicators, but new chief executive Mark Robinson appears born to the role and Foster, Barrett and Coles are fortunate to be under his leadership.
