South Canterbury union welcomes NZ Rugby’s planned shake-up
South Canterbury Rugby Union chief executive Craig Calder says he is welcoming a proposed ‘‘once in a generation’’ shake-up of the game.
Yesterday, NZ Rugby announced a major shake-up in the game’s structure to address declining revenue and participation. A governance group, acting on behalf of New Zealand’s 26 provincial unions, five Super Rugby clubs, and NZ Rugby, has received the independent findings from a consulting firm which has undertaken a review of rugby.
Yesterday, NZ Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson said there were opportunities to look at new revenues due to ‘‘the strength of some of our brands’’, while he indicated change-ups to gameday operations in the Mitre 10 Cup, for instance, were something to consider.
Calder said they had received a high level briefing from NZ Rugby, with roadshows for union chairpersons and chief executives to take place over the next month. Calder said about 42 per cent of SCRU’s revenue came from NZ Rugby.
‘‘The biggest potential change is how NZ Rugby would fund us. This could potentially have an impact on how we do things. But we are looking forward to a fresh approach,’’ he said.
‘‘It is a once in a generation opportunity for us.’’
Calder said SCRU had already implemented a number of initiatives over the past couple of years, which placed a greater emphasis on player development and participation.
‘‘We have been putting more emphasis on school and club rugby in the province, which is all about supporting the game. It is about making it a broader base. The focus should also be on fun and enjoyment.’’ Calder said he expected the recruitment process for high achieving players would remain largely unchanged at a South Canterbury regional level. ‘‘You look at secondary school rugby here, and the quality of players it has produced. ‘‘Someone like Cullen Grace, who progressed from secondary schools to being in the starting lineup of the Crusaders within a few years, is a recent example. But that is just one pathway. ‘‘There will be many other options.
‘‘Our focus will be on preserving the game at its grassroots,’’ Calder said.
A NZ Rugby press release said the review had identified a number of opportunities to grow revenue and remove inefficiencies that could allow rugby to access potentially $20 million to $30m for reinvestment into the game, with the goal of setting the sport up for sustained success. This value represents less than 10 per cent of all of rugby’s current operating costs.
‘‘That is why we want to work closely with NZ Rugby on this. To be honest, there are no great shocks to us in the findings,’’ Calder said.