Tew is in danger of tarnishing his legacy
The NZ Rugby boss is a brilliant administrator but has had a poor year, writes Marc Hinton. THE
OPINION: Someone call in the restoration people. I’m looking at Steve Tew’s legacy and I’ll be damned if there’s not some signs of tarnishing setting in.
It’s not too late to save it, but the chief executive of New Zealand Rugby would be wise to take some preventative measures, lest the rust sets in. It’s his edifice, after all. The testament to his life’s work.
Perhaps he could consider taking a step outside of the insulated dome in which he operates, and smell the air in the big wide world. He might like to listen to a few people who couldn’t recite the All Blacks’ last 17 straight victims. Words like empathy and sympathy spring to mind.
It’s just a thought, but maybe he should consider the prospect that rugby isn’t actually the centre of the universe, and that therefore it needs to operate within the same sort of standards and constraints as everybody else.
Look, let’s get one thing straight. This is not a Steve Tew hatchet job.
Far from it. I rate him New Zealand’s foremost sporting administrator, and believe his record backs that up. If he’s not the saviour of the professional game in this country (his predecessors established the framework which is now the envy of the watching rugby world), he is certainly the architect of its unbridled and unmatched success in the modern era.
When his career comes to an end − and there are whispers that time may be sooner rather than later − his body of work deserves to be celebrated, not sneered at.
He has achieved an enormous amount, and deserves to be remembered for that, rather than presiding over a misogynistic, anachronistic old boys club, which is how some would portray New Zealand Rugby.
Tew lives and breathes his game. He’s a smart guy. A tough operator. A devilish negotiator. A pretty good delegator. And a charismatic individual when you get to know him. He understands New Zealand’s place in rugby’s larger scheme of things and has been incredibly successful at not just elevating and sustaining the All Blacks as the finest team on the planet, but also developing the framework for the code to not just survive but thrive in these most challenging of times.
New Zealand rugby’s elite stock is under constant threat from the deep-pocketed raiders of France, England and Japan. Yet almost every player national coach Steve Hansen needs for his All Blacks remains plying his trade in this country, usually for less money than they would fetch elsewhere.
Tew, and the systems he has set up, is a big part of that. He wins the battle, against the odds, because he has steadfastly stuck to some key principles (like not selecting All Blacks from offshore), because he’s clever and inventive with the money he does have, because he has generated enough of a treasure chest to at least be competitive with remuneration, and because he has a first-rate line of communication with his premier players.
This isn’t all Tew’s doing. But a lot of it is. And it’s been established on his watch.
If you have any doubts about Tew’s efficacy as an administrator, take a look at what’s happening in South Africa and Australia, our principal rivals and partners in the southern hemisphere alliance.
Both are in some sort of a state. The Wallabies are mired in mediocrity, and the Australian game is a mess financially and with its development systems. It has got so bad that a group of legends recently penned a letter to Tew’s equivalent pleading for action because the game is ‘‘dying’’.
In South Africa it may be an even worse state of affairs, compounded by their unique political issues and an exchange rate that shackles them. The Boks are in disarray, their Super Rugby teams are off the pace and there’s general acknowledgment in the republic that their system needs to be rebuilt from the ground up.
In comparison, Tew’s empire is thriving. The All Blacks have never been better, New Zealand’s Super Rugby teams are as dominant as ever, the game is in a sound financial position, all things considered, and New Zealand’s best players (with one or two exceptions) still play here.
Sure there are challenges. The provincial game is floundering somewhat. Money remains a worry given our small economy and population. We are worryingly reliant on big sponsors like adidas and AIG, and the broadcasting revenue from offshore. And we need to make gains on global issues like the integrated season and revenuesharing.
But rugby remains important to most New Zealanders. And Tew presides over an organisation that continues to deliver excellence on the field in almost every area.
Except maybe one. This year they’ve been caught short on societal issues like the Chiefs strippergate, like Losi Filipo’s assault case, and even Aaron Smith’s naughtiness on All Black duty.
The perception is they’ve been slow to act, been blinkered in their responses and have failed to acknowledge wider issues at play. Tew has to cop that. His handling of the Chiefs saga was poor. I think even he would acknowledge that.
It’s why the next few weeks, and months, are important, not just for Tew’s legacy, but for New Zealand rugby’s ongoing relevance. It has to open its eyes, and its arms, to the new world in which it operates. It has to be better at understanding the female perspective. It has to get a woman on its board.
Tew’s legacy deserves to bright. Right now it needs polishing. shine some