“So we’ve got to take that into account in thinking about our role to support that game, but for sure, we’ll have aspects that we’ll have to look at closely for the long-term viability and sustainability of rugby in New Zealand in total.”
Silver Lake initially invested $200 million into New Zealand Rugby in 2022. Photo / Photosport
Kinraid then described Silver Lake as a “great partner” and said not much is actively being done regarding their relationship.
“We always remain in good dialogue with Silver Lake overall,” he said.
Asked if there was a long-term view on buying the Silver Lake investment back, Kinraid responded it was “to be decided in time”.
NZR’s provincial unions signed off on the initial $200m Silver Lake deal in 2022, under which $37m was immediately distributed to different parts of New Zealand’s rugby landscape, including $1m to each of the 14 NPC teams, 12 heartland unions receiving $500,000 each, $2m for Māori rugby, $7.5m for community clubs and $5m for the Players’ Association.
Another $62.5m was later taken from Silver Lake, but projections in 2024 suggested NZR will have burned through the initial investment by 2031.
NZR chairman David Kirk said in May that the organisation had considered buying out the Silver Lake investment but that would likely have to come in the form of a new loan.