Super Rugby Pacific<\/a> engages fans, continuing to strengthen the NPC and ensuring talented players can develop in a clear, aligned pathway.<\/p>\n\u201cWe\u2019re aligned with Rugby Australia and the Super Rugby clubs that we need people who wake up every day focused on engaging fans, growing revenue and working with broadcasters and the media.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re open to working on things like player movement, a competition-wide salary cap and centralising commercial assets across the key markets.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose are conversations we will now have with Rugby Australia, the Rugby Players Association and the Super Rugby clubs. We know it\u2019s a great product on the field and it now needs to generate the level of attendance and revenue that it warrants.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lancaster\u2019s comments signal an open-minded approach from NZR to growing Super Rugby as a competition, though it remains to be seen how aligned their Australian counterparts and other stakeholders are.<\/p>\n
NZR High Performance Director Don Tricker endorsed the changes for how they can benefit the All Blacks.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the most important factors in developing players the All Blacks want to select is having competitions that excite players and energise our fans,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor 30 years, Super Rugby has proven to be a great competition that meets a key high performance principle, which is to ensure that our best players are playing with and against each other more often. The NPC is equally as critical to ensuring that our pipeline of talented players maintains its depth through 14 teams.\u201d<\/p>\n
NZR Chief Rugby Officer Mike Collins said the union will be better placed to invest time in the NPC once it is free from some Super Rugby operational duties. Once it completes a review of community rugby delivery, NZR hopes to be better placed to act on its findings.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe NPC is absolutely the jewel in New Zealand rugby\u2019s pathway and provides opportunities for players wherever they are in the country. It keeps our playing base wide and is critical to player, coach and referee development,\u201d Collins said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile these changes will reduce duplication and cost, more importantly they simplify rugby operations and player pathways in our major cities and ensure we are operating as one team from community rugby through to the All Blacks.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want the community and professional game working as one, with a single, clear pathway for talented school leavers into professional and international rugby.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n