NZ Rugby boss in the firing line

New Zealand Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson is facing calls to resign from one of his predecessors as the All Blacks jetted off to South Africa for the start of the Rugby Championship campaign.

Former All Blacks head coach Steve Hansen on Thursday took aim at the New Zealand Rugby board for “not doing their job” and failing to publicly back under-pressure coach Ian Foster.

MORE: Ex-All Blacks coach backs Foster, slams NZ board

On Friday, former NZ Rugby boss David Moffett chimed in on the criticism, but took it a step further in calling for Robinson to resign.

Robinson replaced Steve Tew in 2019 and among his first acts in his role was to appoint Foster as Hansen’s successor, before pushing for a purely Australasian Super Rugby, without the South African teams.

Moffett, who served as NZR CEO from 1996 to 2000, was asked during a radio interview whether Robinson was still the right man for the job.

“No, I don’t think so,” he told Today FM. “That’s where I would disagree with Steve [Hansen]. Steve said that he thinks [Robinson] will make a good CEO one day.

“Well, the chief executive of New Zealand Rugby is right up there in terms of publicity and persona as the prime minister. I found in my day I used to do more media than the prime minister on some days.

“We don’t need a CEO to learn how to be a CEO at New Zealand Rugby. We need somebody who knows what they’re doing, and if they make mistakes, like we all do, they can just own it.

“Don’t hide, don’t blame the board if they make decisions, it’s him, he’s the chief executive, the buck stops with him. The board sets strategy and policy, that’s it, as far as I’m concerned. The rest of the time the chief executive is running the place.

MORE: Rugby Champs to continue with 20-minute red card

“I feel for these guys, because I’ve been there. But I never ducked the media. I always fronted, always took the flak, never made excuses. And that’s what we need to see in our chief executive. Robinson needs to get back here and he needs to front the media and he needs to tell them what’s gone wrong, what he’s doing about it and be open, instead of hiding away up there in Birmingham (Commonwealth Games). We don’t want to see that in our chief executive.”

Moffett was then asked whether Robinson should resign, in the wake of the All Blacks’ historic series defeat to Ireland.

“Yes, I think he should,” he said.

“Because this is just the tip of the iceberg. Any rugby CEO who does not understand that rugby is too much of a business to be a sport and too much of a sport to be a business – i.e. you’ve got to get that balance right – is always going to struggle.”

BOKS VS ALL BLACKS: A war of wiles

Photo: Fiona Goodall/Getty Images

The post NZ Rugby boss in the firing line appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.

The post NZ Rugby boss in the firing line appeared first on NZ vs SA Rugby 2022.



source https://nzsarugby.com/nz-rugby-boss-in-the-firing-line/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

All Blacks Rugby boss Mark Robinson refuses to endorse

Image
New Zealand Rugby boss Mark Robinson has refused to suggest Ian Foster's future as All Blacks head train. A matter of hours after the All Blacks' dramatic 35-23 reaction at Ellis Park snapped their three-sport losing run, Robinson fronted media via Zoom in a weird press convention in which he outlined Foster's destiny will be decided as soon as the team arrives domestic early next week, however provided no other perception into the possibly final results. http://plus.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fbroncosvsseahawks.com%2F http://maps.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fbroncosvsseahawks.com%2F http://plus.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fbroncosvsseahawks.com%2F http://maps.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fbroncosvsseahawks.com%2F https://images.google.co.nz/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fbroncosvsseahawks.com%2F https://maps.google.co.nz/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fbroncosvsseahawks.com%2F https://images.google.de/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fbroncosvsseahawks.com%2F https://plus.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2F...
Read more

What to do with the All Blacks No 12 jersey?

Image
Why Quinn Tupaea is the man for the All Blacks No 12 jersey The fact that David Havili was amongst the chosen 11 to fly early to Cardiff ahead of this weekend’s test with Wales is a solid indicator that he will slot into the second-five position then, as he has done to, mostly, good effect for much of 2021.  Ireland v New Zealand Rugby Quinn Tupaea is just five tests and three starts into his young All Blacks career but already he looks the man to start in the internationals against Ireland and France later on this tour. Jack Goodhue may come again when back from injury in 2022 but, for now, Tupaea looms as the best man to punch holes in the opposition line and help break down the rush defence that so exposed the All Blacks against the Springboks. Funnily enough, 12 is not even Tupaea’s favoured position. That is centre, but Anton Lienert-Brown and/or Rieko Ioane are first cabs off the rank there in black. Havili has acquitted himself well for the All Blacks this season, especially...
Read more

New Zealand U20 score in dying minutes to draw with South Africa U20

Image
Staff members from Sunshine Coast Stadium were on the pitch with leaf blowers and brooms an hour and a half before the inaugural Rugby Championship U20 match began, attempting to clear the numerous puddles that covered the pitch. The "Sunshine Coast" had delivered some less than ideal weather for the historic event, but the rain stopped as the teams passed the big, gleaming trophy. With 90 seconds remaining, South Africa had a narrow lead thanks to a scoring spurt in the third quarter, setting up a historically close test between the two well-known rivals. The kickoff demonstrated the difficulty of the conditions; the drop kick hardly cleared the turf, resulting in a shaky kick that drifted into the path of Liam Jack of New Zealand. During the first scrum,  New Zealand  was awarded a penalty; however, a misdirected throw by the referee cost the Kiwis their first lineout. Every step sent water spraying off the pitch, and each catch required focus, resulting in a lot of kicks...
Read more