The Silver Fern

@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2026:

Disagree. There's taking a tough approach and treating people with respect - they're not mutually exclusive.

Haha
That's how it should be.
Last company I worked for (1000 plus employees - first time I had worked for a big company); as soon as there was any tough talking, the "that's bullying" accusation would be straight out, and that be the end of the tough talk.
Amusing to watch the supervisors intantly go into defence mode.
Bosses absolutely dreaded the HR dept.
Couldn't stand it myself, and walked.

@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2026:

No wonder NZ Rugby is in such a mess when senior dudes can't even do the basics like treating their employees with respect. What a shit-show

The 21st century work place is so f'n huggy, you'd wanna be careful even using "firm" words to a co-employee.
NZR HQ will be no different, the office politics will be the same as everywhere.
Leaking something anonymously to the public in what is a very high-profile (NZ) business is probably about the only nasty course of action on the table.

Anthony may have even enjoyed putting his scathing (supposedly) report together, as he walked out the door.
He may have wanted to do something like that for a long time; but couldn't of couse; cant be upsetting anyone!

The player employees get treated with kid gloves imo.

@sparky said in All Blacks 2026:

Parts of the review are going to be scathing.

If it's as bad as it sounds like it's guna be.
They are lame ducks if they hang around.
An accident waiting to happen.
The slightest bit of BS going forward, will cause the noise to get real loud, real quick.

@Nepia said in All Blacks 2026:

As long as we get a Zhukov out of it it's a solid plan.

Mhmm loooove a Zhukov to sort out the Japies.

@taniwharugby said in All Blacks 2026:

given how keen they were to get him there in the 1st place.

And I'm keener to get rid of those guys than Razor!
And I think two of them have gone (Robinson/Anthony).

@junior
told they are goooorn
yeah feels like they are trying to get the alternates lined up.
Joseph/brown would be my most favoured option right now if they are going for a full clear out
Heaps of OE
Joseph definitely not a huggy.

brown and razor will cost them; but maybe not the rest so much.

@His-Bobness

Anthony was covered in the CEO thread.
Your observations are spot on IMO.

Anthony did the review; and then the guys (kirk/tricker/mealamu) that reviewed the review were probably not impressed.
That seems to have started a lot of gossiping that has ended up at the fern.
I'd say everything is on the table atm, up in the air so to speak, but doubt that anything has been finally decided.
Probably looking at the options.

The second head has rolled tho, Anthony, left . . . real quick.
Robinson has gone; Anthony has gone; but there is still one other head I want, and it aint Razor.

The business with Razor will be sorted, if not now, it will be in the middle of this season (in Japieland), one way or another.

@Chris

He led the AB review, for sure.
But the others would have been reviewing the review.
And he promptly resigned on completion.
Says it all . . . oh well . . . the other job pays more anyway.

Haha
Normally the job of the CEO to review the review . . . but . . . that's right, we dont have one of those.

@Chris said in All Blacks 2026:

Well they wouldn’t be sacked by NZR as they would have their SR and Npc contracts just not AB contracts it is not being sacked just not selected like every other AB who has lost his AB spot.

The point is they cant be transferred/traded like other sports franchises.
They may not get selected for the ABs but they will still be on the payroll.
Richardson type "situation."
NT/SR payments are just separate compomemts of the same contract.

One thing I have noted in NZR contracts is that all contracted players have to make themselves available for all NZR national teams.
Unless that clause has been specifically crossed out. Which I'd say hardly ever happens.
If Papali'i really did refuse selection for the ABs last year, then he would be in breach of contract, and could be terminated.
Same for any other players who wont play for Razor.
Ultra toxic situation, if the case.

@Chris

Haha
Anthony would have definitely got unofficially "reviewed" as well, for sure!
I think the whole HP department at NZR is under "review."

@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2026:

i was about to post "I will absolutely crack up if they sack the coaches and then the same players get picked in July anyway"

The ABs are sort of like any other pro sports franchise now.
Easier to sack the coach, than to sack the players.
Sacking the players is even more difficult in the ABs case than in a "normal" sports franchise because of the national qualfication required in all the players contracts.
The players have power.
Not possible to do a Wayne Shelford these days.

Anthony left straight after kirk/tricker/mealamu "reviewed" him

@Nepia said in Super Rugby 2026:

I can't remember which one but I think it had a spectacular end but was average throughout.

For any union guys who haven't partaked for a while; league has really picked up over the last few seasons;
Even some of my leaguie acquaintances say that.
League is constantly tinker with the rules.
Their ball in-play is up to 56 minutes per game (union is still in the 30's).
Noticed last season the refs were working on getting the play the ball done in less than two seconds.
And the average is now under two seconds.
The players are definitely in energy conservation mode at the start of games, you really notice that when you are actually at a game, not so much on TV.
And getting the spectacular game ending almost looks like it's considered part of the object of any rule changes.
Almost like an NBA (and NFL) game; where the game doesn't really start until half-way thru the 4th quarter.

I compare NRL with all union, not just SR/NPC.
SR/NPC is the only brand of union I watch at present.
But SR/NPC is a bit different to the rest of the union game; possibly to the detriment of the NZ national team.
LOL during one of the Aus/NZ tests this year when the ref had to remind the players that they were now playing "international" rules, not "super" rules.

I think as entertainment spectacles both codes are heading in the same direction, league just going a bit quicker.
Comments i've read from WR union honchos are that there will be more rule tinkerings this year.
Probably some "super" type rules being brought into the international game.
All these types of rule tinkerings going forward will work in NZ rugbys favour.
So the more tinkering the better.

Never played league; keen observer of both, a both sideser.
Constantly comparing both codes, and the way each is evolving.
Often amused when one code makes a change; which has already been done in the other; and found not to have the intended result.
Should be more keen observers of both, save themselves a waste of time.

And as a keen observer of both . . . a great game of union is still better than a great game of league.
And if both codes maximise their "rules potential" union will eventually provide a consistently superior "spectacle."

@Tim

Hmm . . . clear-out started?

Clearly why BB got the max contract and not RM.

@Nepia said in Super Rugby 2026:

Even if the majority of what he says is true, a CEO who was in charge of a fiscally failing organisation (which didn't have to pay the players) might need to have some of his comments taken with a grain of salt.

Shows you how tough it is out there tho.
When someone else is paying most of your wage bill, and you still cant stay afloat.
And a rainy day can fuck you completely.
I'm sure it aint much different at the other SRCs.

Wellington rugby really is a basket case at the mo.
Just lucky for them there is another rugby institution just round the corner worth $3.5 billion to bail them out.
Make the call, and down to the coffee shop.

Love to know what the Wellington PU got for their 50% canes stake.
That’d give you some idea of what they canes were worth, probably fuck-all.
Probably handed it over for nothing, in exchange for a bail out by NZR.
All the financial arrangements are “confidential.”
NZR are calling all the shots tho, giving all the guarantees to allow WPU and Canes to pay their bills.
Right now, NZR could merge them if they wanted.
The canes being worth zilch means the Pte Equities don’t have much, or any, say.

Funny that the Horowhenua RFU are the only PU in the region that now has a direct stake in the canes (3%).
All the other PUs are only “stake holders.”
The Horowhenua RFU a little fiscal power-house, who’d have thunk it.

@Nepia

Super/NPC rugby is the only pro rugby i'll actually take the time to watch nawadays.
Although that game in Pretoria last night got my attention.
I still follow international rugby, but a lot of that is absolutely dire; extra disappointingly the very big games seem to be the most dire.
Still watch the locals tho; saw some cracking games from the amateurs last season; very entertaining.

As for the league v union thing.
A good game of union will shit all over a good game of league . . . BUT . . . you get a lot less good games of union, than you do of league.
League is a little more simple than union; and that seems to ensure that every game is going to be, at a minimum, a half-decent spectacle.
You cant say that about union, a lot of games can be complete shite.
At times a close score line is the only thing making it interesting.

Just on top of that, the guys I know who have played both legaue and union (I never played league) generally say that they actually prefer to play union.
Even the shite games of union can be fun, if you are actually playing.
But playing and spectating are lots different.

@Bovidae

Could almost feel his pain . . . haha.

I was aware that the SR clubs could give their players a pay boost on top of the NZR money.
But not aware of how much of a factor it was.
Sounds like it is a big factor.

And I'll admit I am very definitely one who checks the weather forecast.
Raining . . . nah.
I'll leave my decision right down to the estimate of the time it takes to get there.
And when I cut it too fine; sometimes I miss the start.

@SouthernMann said in Exodus:

NZR and Canes well that is just dumb. Except for the fact the moat used training base for NZ high performance is... the home of the Canes out at Trentham.

Haha
But you hit the nail right on the head there.
Does the Wellington PU HP program get the use of those facilities as well?
I am assuming that at the other SR clubs, the SR PUs HP programs share the same training facilities.
There are lots of other synergies that could be made.
Not impossible to have NZR/Canes/Wellington PU admin offices in the same building!

Basically I'd see the SR element doin all the HP, and the PU element doin all the community.

It's not out of the box thinking, from comments I've seen from NZR honchos, they want to do it.
We are only talking about the SR PUs here.
The non-SR PUs will be as usual.

The most complicating factor I see is the private equity element that I think all the SR franchises have.
Although they are all minority stakes, they do seem to have some day-to-day control.
Unsure exactly how the private equity relates to NZR.
Whether NZR can just do what they want, or do they have to talk those guys around.
Maybe why it has not been done already.
No private equity in the PUs!

@nonpartizan

Not everyone is keen on this sort of thing.
I noticed the Perth Italian Serie A soccer game got canned.
The Asian Soccer Federation came over the top and nixed it.
Still tryin to figure out why they would want to do that.