Rugby League –Contributing to New Zealand’s Future Report of the Independent Review Committee | February 2009 The Status of Rugby League at the Time of the Review • No shared vision for the game nationally and no meaningful Strategic Plan exists for the sport • Player numbers are declining with the greatest decline being in the 6-11 year age group • Registered player numbers in 2008 are approximately 17,000 which is very low compared to other team sports • Seven of the 15 Districts have very modest numbers, with Tasman and Otago having no teams at the time of the Review • NZRL has accumulated losses of $2.2M for the 2006 and 2007 periods and now has no cash reserves • NZRL has lost support from key funding and sponsorship partners • NZRL lost $2.0M as a result of its decision to invest in bars in the early 2000s • Four governance and capability Reviews undertaken since 2002 identified that significant changes were required but evidence suggests many of the recommendations identified were not implemented by the Board responsible at the time 30 30 • NZRL has no sustainable programmes in place to support the “grass roots” game • No sustainable national representative competition currently exists • NZRL accepts that high performance is “outsourced” to Australia, but has no effective strategies in place to mange this • The Review consultation process identified that major changes are required for the sport “to have a future” • The “Kiwis” became the World Cup champions for the first time in 2008 which demonstrates the remarkable talent and potential for the sport in New Zealand Things have to change Imagine Rugby League In Five Years Time • As a vibrant growing sport, which is renowned as a cornerstone team sport in New Zealand alongside Rugby, Cricket, Netball and Soccer. Mums and Dads of all socio- economic groups and ethnic backgrounds and their children consider Rugby League as one of their sporting options from a very young age • As a sport that has ethics/standards which the wider community (schools, sports trusts, iwi, local authorities, parents, etc) are proud to support • As a sport that plays a major role in the development and well-being of families and communities • Where player numbers have increased significantly year on year across all ages with strong active Clubs found in all areas of New Zealand • Where Kiwi kids from anywhere in New Zealand believe that they could wear the black and white “Kiwis” jersey, and understand the pathway to get there • Having a sustainable strong national competition which provides a stepping stone for some of New Zealand’s elite players on a pathway through the national competition to the NRL and “Kiwis”, plus providing a high quality competition for the next tier of New Zealand based players. • Having an effective high performance strategy which has ensured sustained excellence at the international level • Having paid capable administrators and development personnel in each of the new Zones year30 on year running well structured development programmes30 for juniors, youth and senior players, as well as for team managers, referees, and coaches • Having “locked-in” sustainable funding arrangements are in place which support the participation and high performance goals and programmes in the sport. These funding arrangements exist with a number of reputable providers (including domestic and international broadcasters, large corporate sponsors, community trusts, community groups, and local authorities) • Where NZRL is recognised as the facilitator of the significant growth of the sport, and the contribution this has made to the lives of young New Zealanders • Where the NZRL Board and senior management are held in high regard for their outstanding vision, leadership and integrity All this is possible if the sport embraces making significant changes now 1.0 Executive Summary When the great scorer comes To tally the score against your name He marks, not whether you’ve won or lost But how you’ve played the Game Rugby League (RL) is a “gladiator” game and its structure and practice has evolved from its working class roots in Northern30 England. Research has shown that while League is the30 third most important game New Zealanders want to win as a nation, it has the potential to play an even greater role in the lives of New Zealanders over the next decade. Rugby League is one of the many sport pathways supporting the development of all New Zealanders, including Maori and Pacific Island people who SPARC surveys identify as major participants in Rugby League. Effective governance of the sport will grow the sport so that it can respond to increase participation from all ethnic groups in New Zealand, including growth within the Maori and Pacific Island population, as well as Europeans. The sport will help ground, anchor and develop individuals “giving our young people a place”. Despite this importance, NZRL, the national sporting organisation (NSO) for Rugby League, has experienced difficult times over recent years. During the course of this Review, the New Zealand high performance mens team won the World Cup for the first time since the competition was established in 1954. This was a great achievement. However, despite this success the Review Committee found a sport in total disarray, with the national body having lost the confidence of its members, funders, investors and sponsors. There was no history of sustained development, performance or success within the sport, nor the capacity to fully leverage the recent World Cup success. Members openly stated that they have no trust or confidence in the governance and executive leadership of NZRL and readily shared stories of behaviours such as manipulation, retribution and “ticket-clipping”, as well as the lack of leadership and direction from the administrators of the game. The Review Committee observed that the current Board has made significant progress in starting to stabilise the position and reputation of the game and has put in place a number of important initiatives which will support the game in the future. However, the Review Committee found that fundamental structural flaws still exist which must be addressed. The current Board has set a positive platform and provided the opportunity to enable the sport to make the changes that are needed for a sustainable future for the sport. The game is plagued by the secrecy surrounding past investments in gaming related activities and bars (which resulted in an investment loss of $2M), and the PWC Governance Review carried out in 2007 which was never made public. The Review Committee has detailed these investment activities and the findings of the PWC Review in this report as it is time for the sport to understand what happened and to move on. The consultation undertaken by the Review Committee had one unanimous message “The current structure and modus operandi for the sport is not viable. The future requires defining a vision for the sport of Rugby League in New Zealand and putting in place a strong national organisation to facilitate delivering this”. The same issues were identified over and over again from people within Rugby League | Contributing to New Zealand’s Future 4 the game and outside the game. They signalled a strong mood for change and a strong desire for the Review to provide the mandate for this, and for the Rugby League community to embrace the necessary change. In the years 2006 and 2007, NZRL lost over $2M and at the time of the Review it was “cash strapped” with no cash reserves. In regard to the past decade, the lack of appropriate financial governance has led to excesses, including losses on investments and costs of trips, in particular the All Golds trip in 2007. The Review Committee found that no meaningful sustainable national game development programmes are in place, player numbers had declined from 2002-07 with possibly a small increase in 2008, the 15 District structure is breaking down from poor administration support (with several of the Districts being smaller than the average size Club in Auckland), and there was no sustainable national competition structure in place nor recognisable pathways to high performance. Numerous examples were found of the sport accepting poor standards which would not be tolerated in other sports. These influence the choices individuals, parents, families, and communities make in regard to participating in Rugby League. The examples given demonstrated the absence of a culture within the sport that respects, values and pursues excellence and high standards in all aspects of the sport. The Review Committee concluded that if major governance and structural changes are not made, the sport over time would be reduced to a localised social game and as a result could not add the potential benefit to New Zealand that has been identified. The major changes needed must be able to be “locked-in” over time. The Review Committee identified eight components that would underpin the long term success for the sport as illustrated below: SOUND CREDIBLE GOVERNANCE including robust appointment process for NZRL board and best STRONG practice processes INFRASTRUCTURE to QUALITY support the game “on SUSTAINABLE the ground” including REVENUES sustainable regional structure SOUND STANDARDS OF SUCESS OF ADMINISTRATION EXCELLENCE in everything executed NZ RUGBY including high calibre CEO by Rugby League LEAGUE and sound financial management STRONG & STRONG SUSTAINABLE PROGRAMMES NATIONAL “on the ground” to COMPETITION STRONG support the grass INTERNATIONAL roots development