So, the world of NZ rugby changes, for the better?
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?
Lisa was born in Auckland at the start of the 1970s, living in a small campsite community on the North Shore called Browns Bay. She spent a significant part of her life with her grandparents, often hanging out at the beaches. Lisa has many happy memories from those days at Browns Bay beach, where fish were plentiful on the point and the ocean was rich in seaweed. She played in the water for hours, going home totally “sun-kissed.” “An adorable time to grow up,” Lisa tells me.
Lisa enjoyed many sports; she was a keen tennis player and netballer, playing in the top teams for her age right up until the family moved to Wellington. Lisa was fifteen years old, which unfortunately marked the end of her sporting career. Local teams were well established in Wellington, and her attention was drawn elsewhere.