Following last week’s contentious vote, several All Blacks legends felt that the unions had the potential to seriously harm the game in New Zealand.
Members of New Zealand Rugby (NZR) assembled for a special general meeting to vote on two proposals. The first, approved by both the players and NZR, would carry out the recommendations of an independent review chaired by David Pilkington.
The Pilkington investigation stated that the governing body was ‘not fit for purpose’ and recommended several changes to the organisation.
However, other provincial unions submitted a counter-offer, Proposal 2, which was also voted on.
NZRPA’s Threat
A week before the important meeting, the New Zealand Rugby Players Association (NZRPA) threatened to leave NZR if Proposal 2 was approved.
When it was passed by 69 to 21, the NZRPA announced their desire to secede from the ruling body, sparking a possible civil war. It has left former and current All Blacks frustrated, especially Sir John Kirwan, whose plan was rejected by the majority of the unions.
“Here’s who came out in favour of this (Proposal 1): Richie McCaw, the great Ian Kirkpatrick, Sir Michael Jones, Sir Wayne Smith, Sir Steve Hansen, Sir Buck Shelford, Mils (Muliaina), Goldie (Jeff Wilson), Sean Fitzpatrick,” Kirwan stated to The Breakdown.
“They all came out and said, ‘We believe option one is best for the game.'” You know what these individuals (certain unions) have done: ‘I’m just going to ignore that and go back to the same old stuff.'”
New Zealand’s ‘civil war’ is in full swing when a plan supported by Richie McCaw and Sam Cane is rejected.
Fellow ex-All-Black Jeff Wilson believes that the majority of provincial unions are skeptical that people at the top of the game have their best interests at heart, but recognizes that voting for Proposal 2 is a “very, very big risk”.
“The question is why they’ve chosen to overlook that. I honestly believed that they didn’t consider that going forward, if they
If Proposal 1 passed, they would be treated with the respect and assistance they deserve,” he stated. “What’s happened is that the people who have made these decisions not to reset our game have put it in a very, very big risk to have a massive split in the game, between professional and amateur.”
Better for grassroots games.
However, All Blacks centurion Mils Muliaina believes that Proposal 1 would have been preferable for the amateur game.
“They chose Proposal 1 because they wanted to improve the grassroots and everything else.” “Proposal 2 does not achieve that,” Muliaina stated.
“Would it be a bad idea if the professional game split off from New Zealand Rugby, the New Zealand Rugby Players Association, and the commercial side?” They could do it.
“It’s broken, the relationship between all this is absolutely broken.”
Meanwhile, Kirwan questioned if the governance review was ultimately a waste of money, given that the unions were unlikely to vote for broad reform.
“My problem is that the Pilkington report cost close to a million dollars, and this is the problem with the current governance,” he stated. “The present group of people that voted against it decided to do it. They agreed, but why? They knew they’d veto it in the end.
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