NZ Rugby

Apart from the New Zealand Rugby Players Association (NZRPA), most New Zealanders would surely feel uneasy about selling any percentage of NZ Rugby’s future commercial income to Californiabased Silver Lake, a private equity firm.

It seems that this giant US investment corporation is offering a one-off payment of $387.5 million in exchange for 12.5 per cent of the game’s revenue ‘‘in perpetuity’’ as NZRPA boss Rob Nichol puts it.

So, once the money is doled out by NZ Rugby and spent by the recipients (i.e. rugby clubs) it will be gone. But we’ll still be paying out a huge dividend to an off-shore conglomerate which probably has not the slightest interest in the game itself. They’re in it, of course, to make heaps of money.

And NZ Rugby would still remain liable for running the game. This seems too risky and short-sighted to me.

If NZ Rugby requires a large cash injection to distribute around the provinces why not raise the money from Kiwis? Many people and companies would, surely, be glad to purchase shares and guarantee that the future of our beloved national game is not compromised. Stephen Newman Timaru

A letter writer is against a portion of New Zealand Rugby being sold to American interests.