not fit for purpose says the headline and, well... they have a point.
'Not fit for purpose': New Zealand Rugby urged to change dramatically after scathing review
New Zealand Rugby needs to change “urgently” after a highly critical review found that it was effectively a broken model, and “unfit for purpose”.
The review, which was released on Thursday morning, paints an alarming picture of a dysfunctional organisation that is effectively hamstrung by its own structure, leading to crisis points through the rugby system.
In the panel’s view, New Zealand rugby has too many professional players with the NPC seen as unsustainable in its current format, while Super Rugby clubs are also struggling financially.
Yet, hard decisions to address these challenges are effectively being kicked down the road because NZ Rugby is afraid of antagonise the provincial unions, or even effectively hold them to account for their own spending decisions.
“We question not only whether New Zealand can support so many fully professional rugby players but whether it can afford the overhead costs of 26 different Provincial Unions,” it noted in one segment.
“The NPC competition can only continue in its present form as a fully professional competition with extensive NZR financial support but Super Rugby clubs, supposedly commercial entities, are all struggling to make money as well.
“The member Unions are financially dependent on NZR. We would expect the national body to use this point of leverage to resolve these kinds of problems. We were told by many, however, that the NZR board and NZR staff are constantly mindful of upsetting the member Unions and the threat of member Unions calling a special general meeting to remove the NZR board is ever present.”
In a statement that will reverberate strongly at NZ Rugby headquarters, the review also concluded “that there is an urgent need for change is an almost universal sentiment across the sport.
“There have been multiple recent reviews of rugby in recent years. The problem definition is clear, broadly agreed upon within the sport, and laid out in detail in this review. Solutions appear elusive. In the Panel’s opinion this largely a leadership issue. “
The review put forward two key recommendations.
First, “the creation of an independent professional process to ensure the appointment of an appropriately skilled, high-performing, independent board to govern the organisation,” and second ”the creation of a Stakeholder Council (The Council) to ensure all key voices across rugby are heard and their interests represented in a collaborative forum.”
The panel was led by chair David Pilkington and also involved Anne Urlwin, Whaimutu Dewes and former All Blacks captain Graham Mourie, and steered clear of criticising individuals at the either NZ Rugby board level or on the executive.
Indeed, while it did not spare NZ Rugby from general criticism after some turbulent years, it said this was a reflection of broader issues at play.
“In recent years, even allowing for the impact of the global pandemic, NZR has suffered a series of highly publicised missteps and, with those, a loss of wider public confidence and respect,” it said.
“Given honest self-reflection, NZR’s member Unions might understand and accept that in being critical of the board they are being implicitly critical of themselves. The board they have is an outcome of the constitutional arrangements they have developed over time.”
Yeah, Wales is a complex, clustef**k of infighting but the regions were always going to fail. Creating artificial teams that not enough real fans identified with was a bad solution. The Warriors were dead almost before playing a game and Dragons starved. Further culling looks imminent.
