‘It busted myths’: The NZ Rugby-commissioned report that backed the NPC and caused a split in the game

Sunday, 8 June 2025

New Zealand Rugby chair outlines what he sees as rugby's biggest challenge.

Unreleased report was produced by consultant James Morrison.
It backed a 14-team NPC and challenged idea the competition was financially broken.
Two recommendations have been endorsed by NZ Rugby board but one hasn’t.

The Men’s Pathways and Competitions (MPAC) report into provincial rugby backed a 14-team NPC competition, rejected the argument the competition was operating on a broken financial model and saw no better option for player development in New Zealand, the Sunday-Star Times can reveal.

The 108-page report was produced by consultant James Morrison, who has previously worked on projects for the IRB (now World Rugby) and the establishment of the ANZ Netball Championship.

The New Zealand Rugby-commissioned report and its three key recommendations have not been made public.

However, the Star-Times can reveal that those recommendations were: changes to men’s pathways system; the retention of a 14-team NPC; and the re-amalgamation of the five New Zealand Super Rugby clubs with their home provinces of Auckland, Waikato, Wellington, Canterbury and Otago.

NZ Rugby has endorsed the first two recommendations, which include a proposal to introduce a reduced NPC salary cap to redirect funds to the pathways, but the Star-Times understands that the contentious third proposal is not progressing.

Taranaki players celebrate a try against Tasman in last year’s NPC competition.

Significantly, the report also included a detailed financial analysis of the NPC, the Star-Times understands, and found that while all sports organisation faced challenging futures the commercial model wasn’t fundamentally broken.

A source familiar with the report told the Star-Times it “busted myths” about the NPC’s financial model, challenging previous public commentary from New Zealand Rugby and rejecting assumptions made in the NZ Rugby Governance Review of 2023.

The MPAC report was acknowledged as a major piece of work by NZ Rugby chair David Kirk after the AGM in Wellington in May and its importance was reflected in the steering committee that was attached to it.

That committee consisted of NZ Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson, NZ Rugby general manager of professional rugby and performance Chris Lendrum, NZ Rugby general manager of community rugby Steve Lancaster, since-departed NZ Rugby chief financial officer Jo Perez, Blues chief executive Andrew Hore, Counties Manukau chief executive Chad Shepherd and Bay of Plenty chief executive Mike Rogers.

Southland winger Viliami Fine scores against Otago last year. Southland hope to attract 10,000 to this year’s ‘Stag Day’ fixture in the NPC.

Morrison interviewed provincial unions and Super Rugby clubs, but other major players such as New Zealand Rugby Players’ Association chief executive Rob Nichol also contributed.

The project was already under way when Morrison picked it up, and the terms of reference contained limitations, with the structure of the New Zealand rugby season understood to be off limits and no new funding on the table.

Yet, despite fears from some provincial unions about its direction, the Star-Times understands the report endorsed the NPC as the best player development option for NZ Rugby in its current structure, supporting arguments that have been made by NPC champions such as Taranaki coach Neil Barnes.

The report is said to have included a statistical deep dive into where professional players come from in New Zealand, going back to where they first played their junior footy and how they were identified and developed.

The NPC conclusion has inflamed existing tensions between the provincial unions and the Super Rugby clubs over who should take priority over player development, while the proposal of re-amalgamating the Super Rugby clubs with their home provinces is also understood to have met stern resistance from Super Rugby.

Deep divisions remain between the Super Rugby clubs and the provincial unions on the best high-performance model, but the NZ Rugby board’s endorsement of MPAC’s first two findings means that the NZ Rugby executive and provincial unions are now getting on with pathway changes under the 14-team model.

The Star-Times understands that provincial unions will keep their own academy systems, but there will be a drive to make sure of minimum standards across the country.