KEY POINTS:
At last the penny seems to have dropped at the New Zealand Rugby Union.
After a year in which the national body gave itself a 52 per cent pass mark for its governance despite failing miserably on most of its major objectives, a new goal has emerged for 2008. The NZRU is out to "drive fan interest" in the game.
For an organisation that last year saw fit to consult lawyers over whether nobbling the Super 14 by withdrawing 22 All Blacks from the competition breached its broadcasting contract, but which barely gave lip service to the concerns of spectators, it is a seismic shift.
"Basically people want to see the product as good value, entertaining and worth going to see," said NZRU chief executive Steve Tew yesterday.
Tew was vague on the specifics of how the union would reignite interest in the game but did say discussion had been held with Sky TV over their presentation of matches and with Super 14 franchise hosts over match day entertainment.
Chairman Jock Hobbs drew a line under the reconditioning debacle, conceding the move would have still been a mistake even if the All Blacks had won the World Cup.
"We underestimated the impact of the conditioning programme on the Super 14 competition itself. Even if we'd won [the World Cup] the damage would still be there," Hobbs said.
Yesterday at its annual meeting, the NZRU announced a smaller than expected loss of $1.7 million, however many of the other numbers in its annual report were ugly.
Television audiences for the Super 14 plummeted 30 per cent. National championship viewership was down 31 per cent, and 40 per cent on 2005. Match attendances were also down, with a "severe" drop in the major centres.
The report highlighted the many challenges facing the game but no action is imminent. The future of the national championship won't be known until September. Work is under way on determining the future of the Super 14 and Tri-Nations but Sanzar won't meet with broadcaster News Limited until February 2009.
The $1.7 million loss had been significantly reduced from a projected $10 million thanks to a successful hedging transaction in August that earned $5.6 million. The union also slashed expenses by $2.5 million through freezing performance-related pay rises and trimming staffing levels. The cost-cutting had been so detailed it went as far as doing away with the fruit bowl at headquarters in Wellington, Tew said.
Although the successful hedge had helped this year's result, Tew warned future losses were possible as the union was still exposed to the vagaries of the foreign currency market.
There was some minor bloodletting at the meeting, with Northland board representative Warwick Syers ousted by North Harbour's Gerard van Tilborg against the advice of the appointments and remuneration committee.
Van Tilborg hardly delivered a stirring address as he pressed his case but his closing statement questioning what message no change at all would send to the public seemed to strike a chord with delegates and he was elected by a convincing 60 votes to 28.
Syers, a chartered accountant and chairman of the business and finance committee, was a somewhat curious fall guy given that financial management was the lone area where the union performed up to expectations.
Targets the union failed to achieve included:
* Winning the World Cup
* Increasing player numbers at junior, intermediate and senior levels
* 100% attendance at test matches
* Maintain viewership and attendance levels for Super 14
* Maintain attendance levels at national championship level
* Achieving a break-even financial result.
A quote from Hobbs, plastered in bold letters on the inside cover of the annual report, summed up the failures.
"In a year which offered so much promise, the NZRU failed to fulfil the hopes and expectations of so many."
There was also some devil in the detail of the annual report. A total of $749,000 was written off as a bad debt following the failure of hospitality company Capital Events, while there was also a dire warning from Hobbs over the state of finances at several provincial unions.
"In many cases, revenue is flat or dwindling and rugby-related costs are rising, creating a fundamental tension that, left unresolved, could result in the collapse of vital rugby bodies."
