Revealed: Richie McCaw set for key role shaping future of NZ rugby

Richie McCaw could take a key role in the Silver Lake deal. Photo / Getty

Having made the deepest footprint in All Blacks history as a player, Richie McCaw could soon have a central role in shaping New Zealand's rugby future.

McCaw is the front-runner among a handful of former All Blacks being considered to serve as the Rugby Players' Association representative on the soon-to-be-formed nine-person board that will govern the new company created if the deal with Silver Lake goes ahead.

It's a move, should it be signed off, that will give the greatest captain the All Blacks have known significant influence in determining whether the national game can use Silver Lake's investment to safeguard community rugby for the next two decades and reposition New Zealand as the epicentre of the global game.

Under the terms of the proposed $200m deal, a new company called CommLP will be formed and it will become the owner and manager of all of New Zealand Rugby's commercial properties such as broadcast and sponsorship contracts, test ticket sales and digital assets.

While CommLP will engage recruitment firm Egon Zehnder to carry out a global search for a chief executive and will have $38m to recruit staff and fund initiatives, there is universal agreement that the quality of its governance will be key to its success.

The first step in building that governance team will be to find an independent chair – Egon Zehnder will also be charged with doing that – with Silver Lake filling two seats, NZR five and RPA one.

Strong governance will be critical as the creation of this new company will split the management of the national game into two distinct arms – professional and amateur – but the future of both will be determined by the ability of CommLP to make astute investments and back quality initiatives that create surplus income to pump back into the grassroots.

CommLP will be focused exclusively on exploring commercial and technological opportunities that maximise financial returns and it's because of this tight remit that McCaw's nomination encountered an element of resistance from a handful of provincial unions when it was first proposed several weeks ago.

The concerns sat on two fronts, the first being that there was initially opposition to the RPA having been awarded a seat on the CommLP board as part of the deal.

The RPA don't have a designated seat on the current NZR board and there were some provincial unions who argued they shouldn't have one either on CommLP given the specialised commercial nature of the new organisation.

And the second problem for some unions was that despite all he had achieved as a player, McCaw has limited governance experience and no exposure to the heavyweight corporate world of leveraged and complex financial investments.

But in recent weeks, those unions sceptical about the presence of McCaw on the board have been won over after better understanding the strength of his credentials and by his in-depth knowledge of the Silver Lake deal and possible investment pathways that could be followed.

Unions have come to see that McCaw will be a voice to protect the heritage of the brand, to present the high-performance view and potentially excite a number of new investors who will be aware of his legacy and commitment to the jersey.

His name alone will open doors to places NZR couldn't reach without him.

He's also equipped with a unique set of leadership skills, strategic insight and while he hasn't served on the board of any major corporation, he is a shareholder in several small businesses and was a director of the RPA while he was playing.

McCaw, who has had little to do with rugby since he retired in 2015, was moved to become more hands-on with the RPA last year when the trade body opposed the first version of the Silver Lake deal which was going to sell a 12.5 per cent stake to the US firm.

The RPA are expected to finalise their CommLP nominated candidate in the next few weeks.