Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Nick Bewley: Newstalk ZB Sports Reporter on the New Zealand Rugby summit

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Nick Bewley: Newstalk ZB Sports Reporter on the New Zealand Rugby summit · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Now, the future professional rugby on the agenda at today's
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: NZR Summit. A confidential document reveals options for scrapping either
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: the MPC or Super Rugby remains a live possibility. Nick Bewley,
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  Speaker 1: Newstalk ZB, Canterbury Sports, commentator with us this morning. Nick,
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  Speaker 1: good morning.
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  Speaker 2: Morning, Ryan.
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  Speaker 1: So what's happening today?
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  Speaker 2: Very good question, actually. Look, the likes of provincial unions,
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  Speaker 2: representatives from the PUs, representatives from super rugby franchises, New
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: Zealand Rugby, the Players Association are all meeting at the
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  Speaker 2: summit in Wellington. Now, look, as you just outlined there,
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  Speaker 2: a document has made its way into the media which
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  Speaker 2: outlines three possible options for the domestic professional game here
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  Speaker 2: in New Zealand around super rugby franchises. and the NPC. Now,
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  Speaker 2: according to the Herald, these are indicative, Ryan, so they're
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  Speaker 2: not necessarily voting on anything today, and they might decide
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  Speaker 2: to go down a very different path or do nothing
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  Speaker 2: at all. It feels like something has to be done
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  Speaker 2: because New Zealand rugby is losing money hand over fist.
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  Speaker 2: But the juiciest one, as you outlined there, option C,
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  Speaker 2: which is driven by the provincial unions, is to drop
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  Speaker 2: Super Rugby altogether, cut the Australian's and establish an 8-10
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  Speaker 2: team national competition. The other options are largely unchanged model
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  Speaker 2: except for some amalgamation in the main centres like where
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  Speaker 2: I am here in Christchurch where you've got Canterbury and
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  Speaker 2: the Crusaders. That's to reduce duplication of roles. in the
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  Speaker 2: five main centres and the second option effectively is the
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  Speaker 2: same as the first while adding two New Zealand teams
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  Speaker 2: to Super Rugby there's currently 10 there is no suggestion
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  Speaker 2: on where those teams would come from but as I
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  Speaker 2: say it's more a meeting of the minds today as
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  Speaker 2: opposed to Let's vote on this and this is what's
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  Speaker 2: going to happen. And for anyone who's followed the professional
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  Speaker 2: rugby landscape for the last 30 years, they'll know that
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  Speaker 2: these summits and meetings have happened in the past and
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  Speaker 2: progress has been glacial or non-existent.
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  Speaker 1: And we know Kirk wants to cut $ 20 million a
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  Speaker 1: year in costs. Which of these options, Nick, which is
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  Speaker 1: the more expensive one? You know, where would you get
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  Speaker 1: your most bang for your buck?
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  Speaker 2: Well, it probably is the third one, Ryan, because we
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  Speaker 2: have a super rugby competition of 10 teams. We have
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  Speaker 2: an MPC men's competition at the moment of 14 unions
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  Speaker 2: to go from what is effectively 24 teams and two
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  Speaker 2: competitions all of a sudden to one competition with eight
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  Speaker 2: to 10 teams. It would be the biggest change in
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  Speaker 2: the history of the professional game, which goes back to
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  Speaker 2: the mid-90s. But I just cannot see a world in
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  Speaker 2: which that happens. Super Rugby, as I say, it's been
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  Speaker 2: established for some time now. They desperately want more privatisation,
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  Speaker 2: as we are starting to see in netball, as we
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  Speaker 2: will soon see in cricket. I find that unlikely. I
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  Speaker 2: heard Gregor Paul on Newstalk ZB yesterday say that, you know,
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  Speaker 2: I give that a less than 1% chance, but it
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  Speaker 2: just feels like something has to give because outside of
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  Speaker 2: the All Blacks, New Zealand rugby isn't making money.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, needs must, Nick Bewley, Newstalk ZB, Canterbury Sports Commentator.
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  Speaker 1: Good to have you. For more from Early Edition with
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: Ryan Bridge, listen live to News Talk ZB from 5 a.m.
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: Weekdays or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.