Te Whanganui-a-Tara – So the world of rugby in New Zealand has changed, for the better?Hopefully the day will come when NZ rugby is owned by New Zealanders; not an overseas company looking for easy investment.
New Zealand Rugby has sold a stake to American private-equity business Silver Lake for $200 million. Now what?
Thanks to David Kirk and Rob Nichol from the NZ rugby players association, with support from the likes of Sam Cane, Sam Whitelock, Dane Coles, Aaron Smith. Kieran Read and Richie McCaw, Silver Lake has not been able to take a bigger slice of RugbyNZ Inc.
How long will Silver Lake keep taking the cream off NZ rugby’s returns and can the NZ rugby public buy back their share in five or 10 years.
Could the likes of Forsyth Barr with help from Kiwi philanthropists such as Stephen Tindall or UK-based Michael Watt buy back the Silver Lake shares in five or six years’ time?
NZ Rugby should be owned by New Zealand, for New Zealanders.
When that point arrives, the whole constitution of NZ rugby should be changed, peer reviewed and transparent capability provided for the future.
PriceWaterhouseCoopers has reportedly charged NZRugby $250,000 for a review on the Silver Lake deal. Like all good ‘independent commissions’, surprise, surprise it supported NZRugby’s original 12.5 percent cut deal.
Enter Rob Nichol, David Kirk and co and soon enough that was cut to five percent. The NZRP Association has played a deciding role in this deal; but watch this space.
Questions remain about the corporate acumen and strength of the leaders at NZRugby, from grassroots to the top. Time will tell. Is the boss of NZRugby the chief executive?
