Conrad Smith’s message as he takes key NZ Rugby role: ‘We’re too small to succeed unless we’re connected’
Saturday, 25 July 2026
All Blacks great Conrad Smith is about to take on a challenge just as demanding, and certainly more complex, than anything he encountered on a rugby field.
Smith was appointed New Zealand Rugby’s head of men’s high performance in early July, and will officially start the role in September.
At this stage Smith is in listening mode and readily admits that it might take him six months to get a firm grasp of the entire New Zealand rugby landscape, with Super Rugby clubs, provincial unions and schools having their own priorities.
But Smith tells The Post he is approaching the task with a clear goal in mind - and a warning to rugby’s stakeholders against self-interest.
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“Perfect alignment might be impossible, but we need a real good understanding of where we're all going because we're just too small a country … in terms of player talent and money, frankly, to survive and be the world's best, which I know we can be and we have been for a number of years,” he says.
“We always relied on an amazing ability to all connect and understand where we're going.
“…and it might be hard, but it's not rocket science.
“It's good people in the room having tough, challenging conversations, but walking out knowing that, ‘All right, we're all in this together and we all want the same thing’.”
That “same thing” is winning All Blacks and Black Ferns teams. That has been hard work in recent years as other countries have caught up and even overtaken New Zealand.
Smith’s appointment is, in part, NZ Rugby’s reaction to that uncomfortable reality. He will report to returning NZ Rugby high-performance director Don Tricker and work alongside new chief rugby officer Michael Collins.
All three have vital roles to play, not least in driving a greater sense of shared purpose between the provincial unions and the Super Rugby clubs, whose relationship in recent years has been anything but harmonious.
NPC still the vital ‘connection’ to NZ communities
Much of that tension has been related to what role they play in New Zealand rugby’s unique high-performance system.
Smith, who joined the Taranaki rugby board in June, still sees a pivotal place for the NPC, particularly in how it reaches parts of the country that Super Rugby doesn’t.
But he also hinted at a disconnect with Super Rugby, an issue that was raised to The Post during a 2024 examination of the New Zealand system.
“I've spent the last few years based here in Taranaki and it's a proud region,” Smith said.
“And that [the NPC] is really their rugby. I think even the Super Rugby clubs - the Hurricanes formerly and now the Chiefs - it's hard for them to connect with this region
“They do their best. I'm sure again they’d both say they probably didn't always deliver.
“What you're left with is an NPC that absolutely connects with a region like Taranaki and the same can be said for a lot of places around New Zealand.
“I go back to what the strength is of our country over 100 years when it comes to rugby … it is our connection to communities and that comes to a large extent through the NPC.”
…but it can’t replace Super Rugby
Smith’s support of the NPC isn’t meant as implied criticism of Super Rugby, or support for a beefed-up NPC to be New Zealand’s primary professional competition.
While he laments the exit of South Africa to European rugby competitions - “I know they [South Africans] miss Super Rugby too. I think they'd rather be playing Super Rugby if it was a straight rugby question” - his time inside the Hurricanes camp this year was an eye-opener in terms of its high-performance pedigree.
“I'd love to answer this again in maybe six months, but from my perspective it [Super Rugby] as good as we can do at the moment,” Smith says.
“I've been lucky enough to spend time in some environments even since I've stopped playing. For the last year or two I’ve spent time down in the Hurricanes, especially this year, and not surprisingly that's a quality environment.
“That is a significant step up. No disrespect to the NPC, but the Hurricanes environment is a significant step up. With the coaching and everything that they created down there was special, and those players grew and are now at a far better chance of being great All Blacks.
“So, Super Rugby is still delivering. We’ve just got to do the best of what we can and it's hard when you're down at the end of the world and your neighbours have gone through a pretty tough time in Australia.”
A cautionary tale about NPC’s foreign influx
The NPC and the Top 14 in France are worlds apart as competitions, but Smith’s time in France with Pau taught him about the importance of developing local talent.
It’s a topic relevant to this year’s NPC as the provincial unions have imported a meaningful number of players from Australia, Fiji and Japan.
Smith isn’t opposed to the concept of bringing in overseas players to improve the standard of the competition, but says there is a point at which it becomes counterproductive.
“The French example is a great example, because when it gets to a point where it's actually suppressing the local talent coming through, that becomes the problem,” Smith says.
“I don't think it's a coincidence what has happened with French rugby over the last four or five years and the changes they made around eligibility.
“A lot of people weren't aware of this, but those changes came in pretty much the same time I arrived [in 2015].
“They had a very staggered approach to it and the numbers of players recruited into the Top 14 dropped dramatically.
“And they then provided exposure to a number of the players coming through.
“That's not solely the reason that French rugby improved in that sort of time, but it played a big part.”
That will be another part of the puzzle for Smith to solve as NZ Rugby eyes a return to the summit.