Mark Robinson’s six-year tenure leading New Zealand Rugby will be remembered as a period of tumultuous change.
Contrasting lenses will be applied to his leadership, but when he moves on in December, Robinson is confident the game will be in a better place than it was when he started.
Robinson on Monday announced he will leave his post at the end of this year, citing his desire to spend more time with family who relocated to Queensland.
“It’s a job I love. But when I look at the last few years and the time I’ve spent away from family by virtue of international travel and I look at the next stage of my professional career and where the family is now based, the next step in my life was always going to be offshore,” Robinson said.
While those sentiments are genuine, the domino effect that ushered in a new NZ Rugby board – and chairman David Kirk – last December coupled with Craig Fenton’s abrupt resignation less than a year into his post as NZR commercial boss undoubtedly expedited the push for a change in leadership.
Robinson’s time at the helm, after succeeding the iron-fisted Steve Tew, was marked by a series of turbulent major events.
Many of those – such as the Covid-19 pandemic that changed the face of sport and business almost overnight, and striking a fraught private-equity deal with Silver Lake – were unprecedented and therefore generated controversy.
Covid-19 striking three weeks into Robinson’s tenure forced widespread upheaval. On the home front, it led to the break away from South Africa and Super Rugby’s rebirth.
Silver Lake sparked an ugly, prolonged public war with the players before a compromise deal was finally brokered that injected $60 million into the community game but will soon commit NZR to paying the US investment fund about $15m annually.
And who could forget the protracted Ian Foster All Blacks contract saga.
From firing two assistant coaches, to Foster’s All Blacks saving his job with their upset triumph at Ellis Park, to NZ Rugby opting to anoint Scott Robertson before the 2023 World Cup, there was high stakes drama at every turn.
While his job is far from done, Robinson believes he navigated those significant challenges well and will, come the end of this year, leave NZ Rugby in a better place.
“I do, and that’s no reflection on the past.
“When I think about the growth, the focus on fans, the positioning we’ve done internationally over the last three or four years where our brands are more recognisable… we now invest close to $40 million a year into the community game.
“We’re seeing community numbers bounce back to pre-Covid levels which is world leading.
“We lead the way globally on concussion and brain research.
“Our country is very different to what it was five years ago and our teams and people have made huge shifts in terms of how open, inclusive and accessible they are.
“Super Rugby is by far the best competition we’ve seen in many years and that’s a culmination of a huge amount of work we’ve done globally on the international scene to lead law reform.”
In his win column, Robinson cited 60% growth in annual revenue post Covid and an international calendar that will, from next year, include reviving reciprocal All Blacks and Springboks tours.
In a nod to constant tensions with the provincial unions, where he lost support in recent years, Robinson acknowledged the constant push and pull.
“It’s the kind of organisation filled with teams and people that are always demanding to be better. We should hope the day never happens when we aren’t striving to do that. We demand the best of the best.
“When things don’t go well you’re the sole responsibility for those things happening and that’s the way it should be in leadership.
“For anyone in the role going forward, preserving the legacy and history but forcing ourselves to be different in the way we think about the future and connect with fans and participants is a constant challenge.
“The trends around sport and entertainment are constantly evolving and rugby has to be able to find a way to stay ahead of it.”
With Foster this week due to release his book detailing his account of how his contract was not renewed before the last World Cup, Robinson maintained appointing Robertson was the right call at the right time.
“We’re a team-first organisation. We absolutely, through that time, put the team winning and performance at the front of all the decisions we made.
“As it relates to the World Cup and getting ready for that, it meant having the right people there and giving us every chance to win that tournament.
“We all know we were incredibly frustratingly short, but we made sure leading into that tournament and for the 18 months in advance we had the best people there.
“We’ve not been personal. We’ve not redesigned history as it relates to that. I know people close to those decisions did a great job and got the short term into the tournament right and the long term.
“When I look at the alignment across all our national programmes now, the way all those coaches are working together and collaborating, it is a really positive working environment.
“We’re very pleased with the decisions we made.”
Before he signs off and his legacy can be truly assessed Robinson has several big ticket items to address – the most important of which centres on the next broadcast deal with Sky Television that is expected to land about $25m less than the previous deal.
“I’d like to think it’s done in six months. Conversations are constructive and we’re working through it.”
The other brewing conflict is whether Robinson can, perhaps now with more force, forge a more sustainable financial model that amends the pressing concern of NZR spending more than it earns.
To achieve that, though, the provincial unions or players will need to agree to a reduction in funding.
Robinson’s six-month transition period allows ample time to source a replacement, but his exit will rescope his role to an overarching group chief executive position that paves the way for more unison between the separate commercial and NZR boards.
Robertson’s time in the throne of the national game proves whoever steps into the hot seat next year will need to combine a modern mix of backbone, business acumen, political street smarts and rugby knowledge.
Any prospective leader with any hint of a faint heart will not survive.
Liam Napier is a Senior Sports Journalist and Rugby Correspondent for the New Zealand Herald. He is a co-host of the Rugby Direct podcast.
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