Waikato Business News June/July 2021

20 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS
WAIKATO RUGBY UNION 100 YEARS
Looking to
the future
By NIGEL YALDEN
There is no shying away from the
environment that provincial rugby unions,
like the majority of businesses around the
New Zealand, is currently operating in.
As the Waikato Rugby Union head into
their second century, we caught up with
new CEO Carl Moon to discuss the future
of Waikato Rugby.
Waikato win against France 1979
How would you describe the current state of
Waikato rugby?
CARL MOON: As an organisation we are in good
shape and looking to stabilise through 2021 and
re-grow in 2022. Our people, including our players,
made significant sacrifices during 2020 to help keep
us afloat, for which we are very grateful and respectful.
Waikato Rugby staff, contractors and volunteers
are so committed to what we do here, and it is very
humbling to be part of. Longer term, there has been
a lot of effort put in to secure the financial viability
of Waikato Rugby over the past few years and we
will look forward to becoming debt free in the next
12 months or so. In terms of the game itself there
is a lot of work going into supporting and nurturing
our growth areas, such as girls and women’s rugby,
while taking positive steps to address the challenges
in other areas. Club and Secondary School rugby
has turned a corner and the future looks bright with
some progressive leaders in those spaces. We are
much more open to ideas and trying new things than
we have been as a very traditional sport across 100
years.
What’s the most immediate challenge that you face
as CEO?
CM: The biggest challenge is keeping our staff and
contractors in one piece, and not pushing them so
hard that they fail to reach the finish line. We are
running pretty lean at the moment while we recover
from 2020 but there is just as much work to do. As
I said above, we are fortunate to have such committed
people here, but that comes with risk as they will
rarely say no because they want to ensure our rugby
community receives our full support and leadership
for the good of the game.
What is the Waikato Rugby Union view on the proposed
Silver Lake deal?
CM: Our Board and Executive continue to be very
well briefed on the Silver Lake proposal. NZR went
to extensive lengths to make sure we all understood
the proposal, and in our view, they listened and
addressed any concerns proactively. The biggest
issue from the outset was the control of our future
and ensuring we retained that through the mechanisms
in place within the fine print, and ultimately
our Board voted in favour as they were satisfied that
the requisite protections were in place. The financial
outcomes are obviously pretty significant, but more
importantly we felt that the relationship with Silver
Lake offered much stronger growth opportunities
than trying to make the much-needed shifts in the
game through internal sources.
What is your vision for the Waikato Rugby Union?
CM: To set Waikato Rugby up as a viable and financially
secure entity that is much more self-sufficient
and self-reliant in terms of revenue. Our relationship
with the Chiefs is much stronger now and will
continue to grow. This is critical as collectively we
will both achieve our goals much more efficiently.
Ultimately, we must grow to understand our place in
the community and be proud of who we are and the
impact we have had on our province over the past
100 years. We are unique; our brand is unique; our
sport offers the opportunity to grow people in a very
unique way and we need to be comfortable celebrating
that.
What excites you about the future of Waikato
rugby?
CM: The game is on the edge of a massive transition
phase at the moment, and it is exciting to be
part of. We have acknowledged and confronted
the challenges, which is an essential first step if we
genuinely want to get better. From here we need to
be brave and open to the significant change that is
required to address those challenges, and as a rugby
organisation we are definitely up for it. We might
not get the changes right every time, but in most
cases we will, and even if we don’t, the alternative is
that we do nothing which is not an option in reality.
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