Elliott Smith: Newstalk ZB's Lead Rugby Commentator on the NZ Rugby Summit looking at how to cut outgoing costs
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Why does New Zealand Rugby need to cut $20 million from its budget?
Big day for rugby as we mentioned. The Brains Trust get together and try and work out how to make the game pay its way. They're looking to slice twenty million out of the budget. Elliot Smith is our um lead commentator and editor, of course he's with us. Elliot, morning. Morning, Mike. The interface between practicality and solving a mathematical problem versus the politics of these guys, is that a problem?
It is because uh everyone's coming in with their own agendas and own ideas about where rugby should go and and what rugby should look like in New Zealand. Um and so you're coming in with pr predetermined biases, I guess, of um how you think that the sport should look. And if you come from a provincial union, you've got a view of how it should look and what the pathway should be.
How do stakeholder biases affect decisions on Super Rugby vs. NPC?
And if you come from super rugby, uh you've got your own ideas about that, and that obviously leans towards super rugby, and if you're in New Zealand rugby Well, you obviously sort of back uh super rugby given you've um you know been aligned with it for thirty years. So everyone comes in with their their predetermined biases, but they're gonna have to put those aside uh to strip that money out of the game, as you said, and figure out the best uh best pathway uh forward for the game.
Seven Piney the other day on Monday said the o the all blacks are the only people who make money. Is that true?
Uh it is, but there are also other revenue streams. Um, you know, Super Rugby does uh make money on its own. Uh the women's game does lose some money, but there are also sponsors in the women's game that don't sponsor the men's game, for example. So they pull in uh revenue of its own. But the All Blacks are this um beast that um bring in so much money around the world.
What revenue streams keep New Zealand Rugby solvent despite high costs?
And the issue for New Zealand rugby is they're making enough money, it's the money that is going out now out of the game, uh, you know, across the board that they need to to trim that. So they don't have a they don't have a revenue problem, they've got an outgoing cost problem that they've got to solve.
But that's just loose around the edges, isn't it? I mean if you've in if you've doubled your income in ten years, you're doing fine. So what's the problem? The problem is you don't know how to stop spending, isn't
it? That's right. Well we gotta spend in the right w right ways. And and this is the problem is that New Zealand rugby has developed a you know professional game over the last thirty years, but they haven't taken away elements.
Should the NPC be reshaped or replaced in the professional era?
They haven't reshaped the game and gone, now we're a professional league. Do we need the NPC in its original form? Do we still do that? Do we do something different? Super rugby, you know, it's it's been added on top. So nothing's been taken away necessarily or reshaped over the professional age for rugby. There's been a things added on, the women Tennis game, for example, and and and sevens programmes, everything like that. So it it's time for a reshape of the game in New Zealand and and look, they're gonna have to be some su uh some tough decisions here made, uh Mike.
And will there?
When will NZ Rugby finalize a new competition format and what’s next?
I mean in the sense, will anything actually happen today or are they just going to get together, have some morning tea and then go back to their provinces?
Well, very much a brainstorming session, I think, today, Mike. And then New Zealand rugby will collate that feedback by October. They want some sort of decision to take to the board uh in December. But as we've said, everyone's got their own biases. So whether they uh can make a decision by morning tea time, I think, is gonna be very interesting indeed.
Good on you, mate. Nice to catch up, Elliot Smith, who's our um commentator and uh league rugby band. For more from the Mike Asking Breakfast, listen live to News Talks Ed B from 6 a.m. weekdays or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
Why does New Zealand Rugby need to cut $20 million from its budget?
0:00–0:39
2
How do stakeholder biases affect decisions on Super Rugby vs. NPC?
0:39–1:24
3
What revenue streams keep New Zealand Rugby solvent despite high costs?
1:24–1:57
4
Should the NPC be reshaped or replaced in the professional era?
1:57–2:23
5
When will NZ Rugby finalize a new competition format and what’s next?
2:23–2:58
Speakers
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