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0 This article was originally published by Stuff and is reproduced with permission
The proposal heavily backed by provincial unions at New Zealand Rugby’s special general meeting has been passed and could split the game in two after Thursday’s vote on governance reform.
A scathing independent review released last year said NZ Rugby’s governance model was not fit for purpose and change was required.
There were two proposals considered at NZ Rugby’s Wellington offices.
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NZR CEO Mark Robinson looks on during the Special General Meeting. Getty
The first asking to adopt the review’s findings was overwhelmingly rejected by provincial unions with the vote 59-31 against.
The second, backed by the bloc of provincial unions, was passed with the vote 69-21 in favour.
That approval is likely to ignite what’s been described as rugby’s “civil war” after Rob Nichol, the head of the players’ association, threatened to walk away from NZ Rugby if it was passed.
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All Blacks captain Sam Cane leads the haka at Mt Smart Stadium. Getty
Nichol released a statement moments after Thursday’s vote was completed.
“The expert panel laid out what we needed to do perfectly in their recommendations,” he said.
“Those recommendations got support from NZR, NZRC, Maori Rugby board, Super Rugby clubs, NZRPA and a good group of PUs.
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“It was a great opportunity for the game to make the changes required.
“It’s incredibly unfortunate we haven’t taken that opportunity and ended up with what the expert labelled status quo or worse.”
He had also said proposal two was a “land grab to control NZ Rugby” by the provinces.
Rob Nichol and Richie McCaw take a photo prior to the start of the 2019 Coast to Coast. Getty
The row could also lead to the resignations of some of rugby’s senior administrators, including NZ Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson, with rising tensions between the governing body and larger provinces such as Auckland, Canterbury and Wellington reaching boiling point.
Former All Black Arran Pene, a NZ Maori Rugby board member, supported proposal one and said he was disappointed with the outcome.
“We all love this game but, to a certain extent, Rome is burning, so we need to get on with things,” Pene said.
Pene said time will determine if Thursday’s vote was good for the game.
“We’ve had these battles before when the game went professional in 1995 and have been through a number of events,” he added.
Rowena Duncum, a board member of Heartland union Whanganui Rugby, backed proposal two and said history had been made.
“We’ve come a long way in updating the oversight of the New Zealand game. The new board will be capable of overseeing NZR’s commercial arm and management of the domestic game,” she said.
Canterbury Rugby chairman Peter Winchester was one of the main figures behind proposal two and said the provinces wanted rugby to unite.
Winchester reiterated the importance for the game’s administrators to have experience of working on a union’s board and to understand the importance of grassroots rugby.
“We need to get together and make the game as good as it can be,” he said.
Winchester said he was surprised by Nichol’s earlier threat to take the players away.
“This is about rugby for all. There’s got to be strong independent governance and everybody should embrace it,” he added.
“People need to take off their hats of where they’ve been for the last nine months, get in a room to talk this out for the good of the game.”
