Will NZR lean in or out?
The Week That Was and a Weekend That Will Be that is already looking ahead to the next one
Across the realm of my human connections, opinion was pretty much split down the middle as to whether New Zealand Rugby will embrace the change demanded by the Governance Review, or punt it to touch.
To paraphrase the mood of the living room, as many people said “there is no way the turkeys are voting for Christmas” as said, “change is coming”.
Thanks to all who wrote in with feedback or comments after the marathon reading and partial annotation of the NZR Governance Review.
Having had the opportunity to sleep on it and communicate with a couple of people entrenched deep within the the sport, my feeling on it remain largely the same as my first impressions:
The need for a fully independent board is painfully obvious;
The concept of a Stakeholder Council is painfully nebulous.
Doing nothing would be easily the worst option but it also possible to envisage a scenario where 10 years down the track we have a gridlocked Stakeholder Council muddying any attempts to modernise the delivery of the game. At that point we may look at each other and say: “Who thought this would be a great idea?”
One correspondent referenced this, writing: “Having two different governance groups is a recipe for disaster (I have lived it in other orgs and it was awful – you just double the amount of pissing contests and politics). The Stakeholder Council is a dumb idea. One really good board could do it.”
The other footnote-type point from the review that captured several people’s attention was the reference to the reputational damage incurred by NZR incurred regarding the appointment of Scott Robertson as next All Blacks coach.
One reader called it “mission creep” on the part of the review panel. Another described it as an “overreach”.
The report stated: “The way the [recent coach appointment] was handled caused undoubted harm to the public perception of NZR. The Rugby Committee… lacked the experience that, in the exercise of its overview role, would have likely prevented the coaching decision and its timing becoming the staff employment and public relations problem that it did.”
I tend to agree with the readers. The coaching decision was a big “news” moment in New Zealand sport but if you put a global lens on the issue, it was massively overblown. If you analyse any of the world’s eyeball-grabbing sports and leagues, coaches come and go all the time and usually in far more callous and celebrated ways than what was a relatively well signposted yet clumsily handled transition from Ian Foster to Robertson. Mature sports organisations, you could argue, actually lean into controversies rather than trying to constantly de-escalate them, recognising that they are an incredibly important part of the news cycle/ engagement.
Even in rugby terms, the plight of Dave Rennie barely raised an eyebrow across the Tasman, so for this issue to be telescoped in this review speaks to a panel that momentarily lost focus on the stuff that really matters, because there is plenty of that.
Those criticisms aside should not detract from the fact this was an important, thorough, long overdue and consequential piece of work.
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The rugby action shifts back on field next week with the start of the wee jamboree in France.
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THE WEEK THAT WAS
In sports administration news of a quieter, more sedate nature, New Zealand Cricket has made a quality appointment in tapping Scott Weenink, a former first-class cricketer with a distinguished legal and corporate career, to replace David White as CEO. Probably against his better judgement, Weenink chose to appear on the BYC.
The appointment process was rigorous, with close to 50 applicants. The Bounce understands Weenink, who was the first New Zealander since Martin Donnelly to win an Oxford Blue in rugby and cricket, secured the role amid interest from highly regarded internal candidate Chris Smith, the former Blues and North Harbour lock turned lawyer, and Sport NZ boss Raelene Castle.
While this week’s Governance Review into New Zealand Rugby painted a grim picture of the crossroads that sport finds itself at, the dynamics around cricket administration are equally dynamic and potentially problematic.
Top of the list is where New Zealand fits into a cricket world where the financial drivers of the sport are shifting from international tours and tournaments to privately owned franchise T20.
Weenink will also enter the role when the organisation’s golden goose, the Black Caps, are trying to squeeze the last drops out of their golden generation (though this spectacular NZ A result hints that the underlying domestic structure might be slightly stronger than feared), and at a time when the women’s game has never felt so off the pace.
Unlike the winter code, he will at least have the backing of a fully independent board, though several sources have said this iteration of the board is not as strong as previous ones.
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It was a busy week for the BYC, as we pumped out more nonsense, too.
International netball continues to throw up airballs.
One News’ Kate Wells spoke to Netball NZ chief executive Jennie Wyllie about her dismay over England’s decision to send a second-string lineup to New Zealand for the Taini Jamison Trophy. It is the second year running this series has been ruined by indifference after Jamaica failed to secure visas in time for the full squad to arrive, crunching the series from three games to two and causing the farcical sight of 50-plus coach Connie Francis being suited up on the bench.
Netball NZ are rightly horrified by England’s arrogance because the shambles is another black eye for the sport.
“Our fans expect teams to act with integrity and good faith and bring their best players and we’re not going to see that,” Wyllie said.
In that case, perhaps NNZ need to ask themselves whether it is worth the cost of bringing this team over.
There should be some soul-searching taking place at Basketball NZ, too. There is no way to sugarcoat what has been a poor campaign that probably peaked with their first-up loss to the USA. Allowing Jordan to force overtime after nursing a comfortable lead deep into the fourth quarter was careless, and they also carried a decent lead against a Greece team they couldn’t hold.
The loss to Mexico in their first classification game has sunk them further into the mire, though they get an opportunity to finish with a win against Egypt.
THE WEEK THAT WILL BE
I’ll be honest with you, I’m just marking time until September 9 (NZT).
The top four, including the Warriors, have essentially downed tools ahead of the finals. Case in point last night’s entertaining but empty match between teams resembling the Melbourne Storm and Brisbane Broncos. The Warriors travel to Brisbane with next week’s final already on their mind, but later tonight there lies a match that should be box office, with two Sydney clubs who have hated each other for 115 years fighting each other for a spot in the playoffs.
Souths v Easts, Sydney, tonight 10pm
Redcliffe v NZ Warriors, Brisbane, tomorrow 5pm, both SS 4
There was nothing to like about the first T20I from a New Zealand perspective, aside from Tim Southee breaking the record for most T20I wickets, a stat that may lack the gravitas associated with the longer forms, but is still mighty impressive. New Zealand are not going to win any games when their two best available batters - Devon Conway and Daryl Mitchell - score 10 runs off 20 balls between them.
England v NZ, 2nd T20I, Manchester, tomorrow 5am, TVNZ+
As harsh as it may be to say it, this could be Liam Lawson’s last drive in F1, so it’s be rude not to watch it. That’s not a commentary on Lawson’s ability, which he’s shown across classes is through the roof. Formula One is a particularly unsentimental business, however, and when Daniel Ricciardo comes back, which could be as early as the next race in Singapore, Lawson will have to hope he’s impressed enough of the right people to get a seat in 2024. Here he talks about how his relationship with Shane van Gisbergen has helped him adapt to different race classes.
Italian GP, Monza, Monday 1am, Sky Sport 1
Two Monday morning Premier League matches stand out from the crowd. The Mo Salah to Saudi Arabia rumours refuse to abate, so there is a chance this weekend could be his last game in a Liverpool shirt, while a classic rivalry matchup puts a lid on the weekend.
Liverpool v Aston Villa, Anfield; Arsenal v Manchester United, Emirates Stadium, Monday 1am & 3.30am, SS EPL
It’s a little difficult to pinpoint specific games in the first week of a grand slam, but the bracket is still alive for a Caroline Wozniacki-Coco Gauff US Open fourth-round match-up, which would be quite something.
Dylan, I reckon you're a bit more learned and considered than I...so can you make any sense of why NZ are touring Bangladesh without most of their full strength XI, in subcontinent conditions that might somewhat mirror World Cup pitches, just over a week before the tournament starts? The glucose levels and generally energy of these guys seem to fizz during the North American T20 swing and cash-in window, but need replenishing in the lead-in to a huge international tournament?
Lots to digest there Dylan. My first impressions reading the report are that whereas in the old days the NZRU catered to a chosen few,
the opposite could be argued now. Whilst it is undoubtedly important to cater to the broad stakeholder base somehow, I can’t see how the organisation can be effective when so many different groups are separately identified as needing their own special treatment. The “chosen few” philosophy of yore is synonymous with the old boys club, and that’s not something that sat comfortably with me, but I’m sure the narrow focus benefited the ABs. I can’t honestly see how the ABs can remain a dominant force when the governance environment has so many objectives and is so confused. And I can’t even decipher what’s more confused, the existing situation or the report itself. What I’m wondering if I’m seeing is the moment in time when the NZRU became such public property that its obligations to its social license now override its commitment to high performance. Every empire has its end, maybe this is it for the NZRU?