The NPC is a nursery for All Black teams, which is why the All Blacks have such a good track record. Obvious? Yes it is.
Having a club competition that is backed by recruitment from childhood through to adulthood is the foundation for the NPC.
It’s obvious but is it being overlooked by NZRU executives?
The fact that the media in New Zealand is owned and run by Australian companies cannot be disregarded. And the way they report has a strong Australian bias.
Unlike in South Africa, the NPC is not proving popular in the initial part of the season and is not proving financially viable at that stage. That is the problem the New Zealand executives should be addressing.
Is curtailing the NPC in favour of an expanded Super competition in our interests? Can we learn from the way that South Africa are organising their grassroots nursery competition?
In what way is the rational of O’Neill in New Zealand’s best interests?
Australia has swamped New Zealand with a combination of media ownership and playing rules that suit them. New Zealand needs to be more assertive in what they want.
An example is National Sports Radio, which is entirely owned by Australian commercial interests. They like league, and it is clear that there is an obvious bias in the way they promote the two codes.
Union has for years been New Zealand’s national code, but the persistent equal promotion of league has made huge inroads.
JON, who arrived at the ARU from Australian Soccer, articulated to the Sydney CBD that wholesale selling of ARU franchises to business interests was not an option; that the ARU must control their destiny and interests by having majority financial control of their franchises.
For too long the veiled mantel of conservative classical economics has dominated our rugby and national thinking.
But what has it brought us and where is it leading New Zealand?
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
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