Option two is a consolidation of rugby entities within regions; merging the Hurricanes with Wellington, the Blues with Auckland and so on, with the intention being to cut backroom costs and streamline sponsorship packages.
The third option is starting over. Scrapping the NPC and Super in favour of one new league featuring all New Zealand teams.
No matter what path rugby chooses for the men’s competition, the women will no doubt be forced to follow their lead.
Timelines are up in the air on these proposals but adding uncertainty to the shape of the game right now is limiting women’s development. That their future isn’t featured in the outlines of these proposals should be ringing alarm bells. It reveals the tunnel vision that ultimately has boxed New Zealand Rugby (NZR) into this corner.
Here again, then, is NZR’s self-filling prophecy. All decisions are being made in service to the All Blacks and thus the All Blacks remain the only profitable piece of the puzzle.
The central issue is unresolved so long as we neglect to diversify revenue streams.
Take a look around the rugby world right now and the next step is obvious. With unprecedented growth, there is genuine money to be made within the women’s game.
Off the back of the last World Cup, England did what NZR failed to and seized the opportunity that presented itself, understanding that the groundbreaking event was the end of the beginning and the start of realising a new revenue stream for the governing body. To capture the momentum, England released a five-year plan. At its heart is an audacious goal to earn the equivalent of $140 million in revenue in the women’s game.
England’s track record of delivery on its long-term plans means it is likely to hit that figure. At which point, it will have raked in more than double the current projected shortfall on NZR’s books. Over the weekend, the Black Ferns just did them a massive favour in that pursuit, bringing back the team who, alongside the Red Roses, were the most bankable ticket sellers at last year’s World Cup and reigniting a healthy rivalry.
Imagine if those at the rugby summit who are proposing the budgets for new men’s Super teams and new entities for their delivery redirected even a fraction of that investment into properly leveraging the asset of women’s rugby. We’d probably see the Farah Palmer Cup semi-finals televised, rather than streaming simultaneously on Facebook this weekend.
There is money still to be made in New Zealand rugby but until women’s rugby is treated as an option in its own right, NZR will be re-slicing the same pie – redrawing the boundaries again and again while spending money to make fans feel something about these artificial borders.
Or perhaps NZR could try to tap into the one team who made every New Zealander feel something real just four years ago and go all in on women’s rugby.
Sports columnist Alice Soper is a former provincial rugby player and current club coach. She has a particular interest in telling stories of the emerging world of women’s sports.