‘There is no magic drink on a Monday morning’
Boiling the kettle during morning tea breaks won’t be the same for Hamish Riach. Instead of looking out the window to observe rugby players implementing game plans at Rugby Park in Christchurch, Riach, who next week starts his role as the Ashburton District Council chief executive after 17 years as Crusaders’ boss, will more likely be immersed in discussions about resource consents or district plans as he brews his morning drink.
He’s had a long stint in charge of Super Rugby’s most successful club, his tenure stands as the longest of any chief executive from the five New Zealand outfits, and started to get itchy feet. A couple of months ago he deemed it was time to drop the bomb on the Crusaders board.
‘‘Seventeen years is a long time to be in an organisation, and I just had a sense that it would be of benefit to both the place and myself to have a change,’’ he says.
‘‘It was no one thing. It is not that I am sick of it, or over rugby. It is nothing like that, it is just this growing sense over the last 12 months that something else would have real appeal.’’
Rugby nuts would probably suggest Riach has a cool wind whistling through one ear and out the other. Sacrificing a regular schedule of firstclass sporting fixtures, and being immersed in the behind-the-scenes action of a top-notch rugby organisation, for a job at a district council won’t make much sense to some.
But Riach, who replaced Steve Tew in late 2001, says he gave this decision careful consideration and reckoned he got his timing right. For starters, he should have a more free time during weekends in the autumn and winter months. Rather than attending Super Rugby games in Christchurch, elsewhere in New Zealand or abroad, he can stay put.
He leaves the Crusaders in good nick.
A decent profit is expected to be posted for 2018 after the Crusaders defended their title by beating the Lions in the final in Christchurch on August 4, the majority of the squad has been retained and the back office is stable.
Crusaders chairman Grant Jarrold said the board’s panel was in the process of interviewing a short list of candidates to replace Riach, and his successor should be named within a couple of weeks.
Under Riach’s watch the Crusaders won six titles, and lost four finals. Robbie Deans coached the team when he arrived, departing after the 2008 season, followed by Todd Blackadder until 2016 when he moved to English premiership club Bath and was replaced by Scott Robertson.
Riach is frequently asked what makes the Crusaders so successful, but his response is hardly dripping with insightful gems. It doesn’t work like that he, says. Success at the organisation is about employing people who want to work hard, and aren’t selfish: ‘‘There is no magic drink that you take at 10am on a Monday morning that leads to success.’’
Clearly Riach inherited an operation that was already humming, despite the team finishing a disappointing 10th out of 12 teams in 2001. Tew had already appointed competent personnel to work in the offices, and Deans had a firm grip on the coaching programme.
Riach emphasises there is an expectation within the organisation that everyone performs to the best of their ability. The task of harvesting the best players from around New Zealand, whether it be within the Crusaders’ catchment or beyond, is no doubt made easier because of the club’s reputation.
Unlike the Blues, who remain tainted by their underwhelming results and middling performances under a succession of coaches, the Crusaders have managed to maintain the momentum on and off the park.
Until late 2016 Riach had operated in the dual roles of CEO of the Crusaders and Canterbury, but relinquished the latter role when Nathan Godfrey was appointed head of the provincial union. Under Riach’s watch Canterbury secured nine national provincial titles.
It hasn’t always been the sweetest of rides at the Crusaders. The 2011 earthquakes put an end to Lancaster Park, forcing the team to abandon a game against the Hurricanes in Wellington (the competition points were shared) before the team staged ‘‘home’’ games in locations such as Nelson, Timaru and London. The latter, a bold venture for a regular season game against the Sharks at Twickenham, didn’t reap major financial rewards but still drew a crowd of 35,000.
‘‘The way the rugby community responded during the earthquakes was remarkable and very humbling; to see how many people around the world were thinking about Christchurch and the game here,’’ Riach noted.
The Crusaders were grateful the construction of the temporary arena in Addington, now known as Christchurch Stadium, was fast-tracked to allow them to play the majority of their home games in the city in 2012 but have had to chew their fists in frustration as plans for a new multi-use arena in the central city stalled.
Even as he leaves his post Riach refuses to fire any public shots, probably accepting it would be senseless to stir the pot prior to the arrival of his successor.
The Christchurch City Council’s decision in late June to bring forward its funding for the arena has been welcomed for obvious reasons. The council declared it would formally adopt the 2018-19 Long Term Plan, which included the mayor’s recommendation to bring forward the council’s $253 million contribution by two years to 2021.
The Government has also stated some of the $300 million Capital Acceleration Fund should be spent on the project.
The question many rugby supporters and business owners in Canterbury continue to ask is why is it that a number of projects in Christchurch are well advanced, unlike the arena.
Riach is hopeful an announcement will be made next month, on what the next step should be.
‘‘And then [the hope is] that work isn’t overly delayed, or bureaucratic or goes so wide it takes years to do.
‘‘The political will exists and now is the time for that project to be seized and the momentum carried on. It would just be a tragedy if that will and momentum was to stall now.’’
As Riach noted, the Crusaders have remained relevant to the city. You don’t have to be a rugby follower to know they are part of Christchurch’s identity.
‘‘It doesn’t always relate to people coming to the game or getting an important decision from the council or the Government,’’ he says.
‘‘I can think of any number of times when you go into town, or are at a meeting, and people you don’t know – they know what the Crusaders are up to.
‘‘They know how the Crusaders went the previous weekend, they follow us and are interested. To a greater or a lesser extent they take an interest in what we do.’’
The global financial crisis in 2008 and 2009 forced the Crusaders to make some difficult decisions, with some staff members being made redundant. It wasn’t a great time to be chief executive, and Riach said he doubted anyone enjoyed that part of the business life.
‘‘We knew we had to do it, and tried to do it with as much dignity as we could. But it was an unpleasant thing to go through.’’
There is frequent communication with the other four Super Rugby clubs and NZ Rugby; they don’t always agree on issues, not surprising given they are competitors in a number of areas, but Riach said discussions were civil.
‘‘We obviously compete like hell for 80 minutes on a Saturday night, but the rest of the challenges we face are very similar.
‘‘But I think if you look at the way it is achieved in New Zealand, it is largely in a more collegial and co-operative way than any other country I can think of in the world.’’
How the Super Rugby competition structure will look when the next broadcasting deal starts post-2020, will be of some interest to Riach.
The current format has been slammed by coaches, players, fans and media for being unfair and difficult to understand but he wasn’t prepared to be so unkind.
He said he was puzzled why it created so much debate, when other sports competitions have the conference structure. However, he concedes Sanzaar needs to have an increased fairness about where teams finish up prior to the playoffs.
‘‘I think you can do that relatively easily, so you can simply look at the points on the table in a more meaningful way than we have with conference positions dictating outcomes.
‘‘If you simplify that, present it differently and maybe try and tidy up as much as that perceived unfairness around the conference impact you could go a long way to making a correction.’’
Crusaders board chairman Grant Jarrold said Riach contribution to the club’s success had been invaluable.
‘‘Myself and the board have been extremely proud of the leadership that Hamish has given the Crusaders and Canterbury.
‘‘His record of Super and NPC titles on the field, combined with ensuring the business had always been in a strong position off it, has been outstanding.’’