Explainer: What will happen in the last six months of Mark Robinson's tenure as NZ Rugby boss
As per usual with sports retirements, we're left with a long time between the announcement and the actual end of a career. With players and coaches it more or less comes down to trophies and milestones in terms of things to be achieved before they hang up the boots or whistle. For outgoing NZ Rugby (NZR) CEO Mark Robinson though, the to-do list may well be a bit more far reaching.
To say Robinson's time in charge of the game's governing body has been tumultuous is a real understatement. He was only weeks into the job when Covid hit, fundamentally transforming the way rugby operated. Then there was the
Silver Lake deal
, the
governance saga
and an
All Black coaching situation
that played out with all the drama of a test match.
But we're not really going to be able to reflect on any of that accurately till Robinson is finished, and probably really not till a long time in the future with regards to Silver Lake. What's important now is what his plans are for the rest of 2025 and what may well happen now that the shackles are figuratively off.
New Zealand Rugby CEO Mark Robinson and chair Dame Patsy Reddy
Photo:
PHOTOSPORT
"There's always something going on," said Robinson at NZR's Auckland office, highlighting the two key priorities: a new financial model and a more aligned global calendar.
"We've got a whole range of different agreements coming together, like the broadcast agreement, the provincial union funding models, our competition models. All allow us the opportunity to come together and figure out what a better model might be for the game."
Given what happened last year, with the governance stoush that ended with NZR chair Dame Patsy Reddy stepping down, that may seem a long way away. However, the reticence of Robinson to hit the nuke button in regards to an internal relationship suggests that progress may still be made by the end of the year - at least from NZR's point of view.
"I think the provincial unions (PUs), the Player's Association (RPA), ourselves, and Super Clubs are all aligned about finding a better model. And we haven't got the answer predetermined … (but) we've done a lot of work on strategy, a lot of work on the long term revenue plan for the game."
It's understandable that Robinson is guarded around just what it will look like, given the potential ramifications for the PUs. The governance stoush pulled the curtain back on a fraught situation between NZR and its constituents, many of whom are fearful of losing funding and influence.
Julian Savea of Wellington celebrates a try during the NPC Final - Wellington v Bay of Plenty at Sky Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand on Saturday 26 October 2024.
Copyright photo: Masanori Udagawa / www.photosport.nz
Photo:
Masanori Udagawa
"We deal with over 30 stakeholders. So you never going to get complete alignment on every issue all the time," was Robinson's diplomatic response in regard to the relationship.
"But we do need to build a degree of consensus to be able to move the whole system forward. Therein lies part of the challenge of a stakeholder organisation. We need to just keep working at educating, and sharing information and building confidence, trust and transparency about what's possible in the game."
So it's fair to say that the full time whistle hasn't been blown on that issue yet, despite the PUs voting to keep the governance system intact last year.
The other big issue on Robinson's mind is the upcoming test schedule for the All Blacks and the commercial opportunities to leverage.
"Things like the Nations Cup, South Africa, the All Black Series, Lions tours in '27 (women) and '29 (men), the World Club Cup are all things that we're very, very close on. But we just need, I think, over the next six months, a final push to finalise those."
All Blacks huddle after the test win against Ireland in Dublin.
Photo:
©INPHO/Billy Stickland
Despite it being common knowledge that the All Blacks will tour South Africa next year, to the point where a schedule has already been leaked, it hasn't been officially announced yet due to commercial details needing to be ironed out. Another, far more ambitious idea is the Club World Cup - again something that people have been talking about for a while but one that will be far more logistically challenging both from a financial and practical perspective.
Robinson is hopeful of having it signed off by the time he leaves.
"2028 is a date that's been slated for at the moment. I think there's good progress being made, there's certainly a really strong appetite from clubs in New Zealand to be involved in it. At various times in the Northern Hemisphere there seems to have been different appetite shown, but it seems at the moment [there] is a good push."
It'll be interesting to see whether the financial model and significant calendar changes will come to pass, which is why this deserves a sequel sometime in December. By then the All Blacks would have completed another long season that will culminate in a Grand Slam tour, while the Black Ferns will have attempted to defend a World Cup.
"I think everyone acknowledges we're on the cusp of unlocking what could be a really incredible model for the game here," said Robinson, before admitting that it's virtually impossible to please everyone.
"There is definitely enough revenue in the game to be able to go around. It doesn't mean everyone will be happy with all the budgets and resource they have, but we can definitely make it work."
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