New Zealand professional rugby players threaten split from national union over governance structure

The provincial unions and the New Zealand Rugby Players Association are at loggerheads over a change proposal. Photo / Mark Mitchell

New Zealand’s rugby provinces have been warned by the professional players to brace for a civil war if they vote to approve their own governance change proposal at next week’s special general meeting.

In an explosive move that shows how distressed the New Zealand Rugby Players’ Association (NZRPA) is with the current governance system and the possibility of it not being fixed in line with independent recommendations, the trade body has told the unions it is ready to break away to form a new and separate entity to manage the professional game.

In a fiercely worded letter sent to all unions as well as New Zealand Rugby (NZR), Super Rugby Pacific clubs and the Māori Rugby Board, the NZRPA says that if the provinces vote in favour of what is known as Proposal 2 – a new governance structure that the provinces have developed themselves and one that differs significantly to an alternative blueprint that aligns with the findings of an independent review – it will withdraw, via its collective employment agreement, the right for NZR to govern the game.

A host of current and past New Zealand rugby greats, including the likes of Richie McCaw, David Kirk, Sam Cane, Sam Whitelock and Ruby Tui were among those to sign the letter.

The letter says: “The adoption of Proposal 2 will result in the NZRPA being forced to establish a new governance arrangement for professional rugby in New Zealand.

“The professional rugby players of New Zealand will not be governed by the failed governance processes and outcomes currently in place in New Zealand.

“The adoption of Proposal 2 (or the status quo) entrenches these failed processes and leaves the professional players with no option but to establish alternative governance arrangements for the professional game in New Zealand.

“The adoption of Proposal 2 will be a clear sign to the professional players that PUs [provincial unions] believe rugby in New Zealand should be governed by PUs for PUs.”

What this effectively means is that the NZRPA will no longer allow its players’ image rights to be used by NZR.

Instead, it will form a new entity it is provisionally calling the Professional Rugby Tribunal, directors of which will be appointed by the NZRPA, Super Rugby clubs, New Zealand Rugby Commercial, NZR and that tangata whenua will be inherently involved.

The NZRPA’s letter says: “You will be aware that the professional players and NZR share the assets needed to operate professional rugby.

“For instance, NZR owns the silver fern logo, the names of our great teams and the right to enter competitions such as the Rugby Championship, Bledisloe Cup and Rugby World Cup.

“The combination of these assets with the players creates the opportunity for professional rugby in New Zealand.

“Should Proposal 2 be adopted, or the status quo prevail, the professional players will no longer pass to NZR, via a collective employment agreement, the right to govern the professional game.

“The new body will govern, in some sort of partnership with NZRU, the sale of media rights, the contracting of sponsors, the revenue share model, international and national competitions, the high-performance programmes and development pathways and any other activity that impacts the careers, safety, remuneration, workplace and development of professional players.”

In this scenario, NZR would be considered by the professional game to be a co-operative body of the provincial unions – and its primary function would be to run and manage community rugby.

The NZRPA has chosen to state its position because it fears that both the community and professional games will be irredeemably damaged if New Zealand Rugby is not able to attract better people into governance roles and in turn, better manage executive decision-making and performance.

It says in its correspondence to the unions: “The adoption of Proposal 2 is a rejection of our wish that together we seek an NZRU board with a mandate to govern the game for the entire rugby community and, indeed, all New Zealanders.”

It has been pushing for governance change since 2021, when it became concerned at the way NZR tries to push through a deal with private equity firm Silver Lake.

The NZRPA took the view back then that the game needed to conduct a detailed independent review to determine whether its governance structure was fit-for-purpose.

The findings of that review were published in August last year – confirming that the system is indeed not fit for purpose - and the report also recommended a blueprint on how to change.

The review said NZR needs to create a new system where all nine directors are independent, but the provincial unions have remained adamant that they want a representative system and so have proposed a model where they retain control and influence over appointments.

Their proposal and one that largely recommends adopting the findings of the review go to a vote on May 30 – with a two-thirds majority needed for one to be passed.

Wellington chairman Russell Poole, who is acting as spokesman for the provincial unions, said that the NZRPA’s letter was “just part of the discussion” and he said it was unlikely to have much impact in swaying the minds of any of the provinces who were planning to back Proposal 2.

He said that it has taken the unions nine months of detailed negotiation and planning to come up with their proposal.

Gregor Paul is one of New Zealand’s most respected rugby writers and columnists. He has won multiple awards for journalism and has written several books about sport.