Status quo wins as NZ Rugby backs dual Super Rugby/NPC competitions

New Zealand Rugby (NZR) has endorsed its preferred dual Super Rugby/NPC pathways from 2028 - the first step in a process which will require the consolidation of rugby governance in the nation's five major centres and lead to job losses.The announcement on Thursday afternoon, hours after NZR informed its board of its decision, did not come as a surprise.It means New Zealand's five Super Rugby clubs will remain in the current trans-Tasman competition, along with 14 provincial unions competing in the NPC.NZR boss Steve Lancaster confirmed that the concept of breaking away from Australia and setting up a purely Kiwi competition of 10 fully professional teams was looked at but was not viable."It doesn't make sense economically," he said, pointing to Australia's financial engine, the content value of Super Rugby and also the different rugby style provided by players across the ditch to prepare All Blacks.The current model of the NPC serving the community and providing a pathway to Super Rugby, and from there to the All Blacks, was the most viable, he said.But it will come at a cost. Currently the five major Super Rugby bases of Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin have a total of 10 high-performance units (and 10 chief executives).That will become five if and when the NZR board rubberstamps the decision.Asked about potential job losses, Lancaster said: "We're not at that stage yet… we're looking to consolidate across the five major centres. That will mean 10 high-performance professional rugby environments [going] into five."There will be some growth in roles but also some contraction. Our focus will be on ensuring we keep the very best talent in New Zealand in the rugby system. But we need to work through that."He added: "It is the right competition framework for us. In essence it's the status quo competition model but the changes are that are exciting us sit below the surface and may not be as obvious…Conversations between Rieko Ioane's Blues and Auckland over NZ Rugby's efficiencies will likely be intriguing.Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz"We do want to drive cost efficiency, we do want to drive greater alignment through our system for players… and [we want] fans to get the best possible product."The process - driven by the need to find cost savings but also "pathway efficiencies" designed to stop, for example, the Blues and Auckland competing for the same young talent - has been run over the last couple of months."It won't surprise you to know there are quite a range of perspectives across the provincial unions," Lancaster added.The requirement for, say, the Blues and Auckland to sit down and negotiate efficiencies is an intriguing one given the politics and rivalries involved between both outfits and the fact that Auckland, with many millions of dollars in the bank, is by far the more powerful financially."The conversations we're having are very much about putting self interest to one side and thinking about what's in the best interests of the game as a whole," Lancaster said.However, he added that it would not be a case of Super Rugby clubs dictating terms."It's a dangerous assumption to make and it's one that people will - 'oh, it's the Super Rugby clubs taking over provincial rugby'. It is not that at all."He added: "One of the conditions that the board has set is… that before we confirm and make a final decision on this new consolidated structure, we have to have adequate mechanisms in place to ensure that talent will continue to be distributed across the 14 provincial unions."Promoting Super Rugby alongside Rugby Australia was also a priority for NZR."We're 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," Lancaster said."We're open to working on things like player movement, a competition-wide salary cap and centralising commercial assets across the key markets."Lancaster was at pains to point out, however, that that did not mean All Blacks could soon play for and be selected from Australia's Super Rugby teams.