Rugby boss departs

One of New Zealand’s longest serving rugby chief executives, Brett Hollister, is stepping down.

In his 11 years as chief executive of the North Harbour Rugby Union, Hollister presided over a challenging time as the Harbour sought to regain its position as one of the nation’s premier rugby unions.

The former Olympian, who won bronze in the coxed four at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, came to the role from the Canterbury Rugby Union in 2006.

North Harbour is now one of largest unions in the country, boasting in excess of 10,000 registered players, are Mitre 10 Cup Championship winners, is seeing the women’s game growing exponentially in the region, and has reported a strong financial performance. There are 14 current North Harbour players contracted to Super Rugby teams and the union will host an All Blacks test match for the first time in 13 years when the Springboks come to Albany in September.

North Harbour Rugby Board chairman Shaun Nixon acknowledged the ‘‘extraordinary contribution’’ made by Hollister over the past decade and is pleased that he will stay on to assist the board with the appointment of his replacement, and several other transition projects.

New Zealand Rugby chief executive Steve Tew said Hollister had been a strong advocate for provincial rugby, whilst at the same time providing excellent support for many of the initiatives and activities of New Zealand Rugby over the past 11 years.

‘‘Brett is one of the most experienced and accomplished sports executives in NZ and his contribution to major initiatives like the players collective will be missed.’’