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Find your Sport Nation frequencyHow NZR plan to support grassroots and late bloomers in system reshuffle
Sport Nation • November 10th, 2026 12:10 pm
Super Rugby Players | Photo: Andrew Cornaga/AAP
As New Zealand Rugby considers major changes to its operations to tackle a potential $66 million deficit, chief rugby officer Mike Collins says the changes at the top level of the game must ensure funding is still within reach for clubs and schools.
NZR faces a major financial challenge after a recent report revealed a structural deficit of $20 million a year, projected losses of $66 million between 2027 and 2031, and cumulative losses of more than $100 million from 2024 to 2028.
“The elephant in the room is we have a cost problem, so we've got a $66 million potential deficit over a five year time period if we do nothing. So we need to reshape the way we deliver the game here in New Zealand,” he told Sport Nation’s Scotty & Izzy.
“Where we decided to start was at the elite men's competitions and so we reviewed the Super Rugby Pacific competition, and you sort of can't look at that in isolation, and that sort of filtered into the NPC competition.
“We had to look at two or three different options and where we got to was that our competition is actually really, really good for different reasons.”
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Collins, who is just 11 weeks into his role, said Super Rugby helped support the All Blacks and gave players valuable trans-Tasman competition, while the NPC’s 14 teams, academies and salary cap helped spread talent and keep the competition close.
“One of our biggest challenges is to continue to deliver the games to the players that are outside that system.”
As part of its wider cost-reduction work, Collins explained NZR is currently examining whether rugby operations in major centres can be consolidated.
“We've got duplication of resources across the rugby system, especially in the men's space, so by trying to consolidate the rugby operations within the major centres, the Auckland region, the Waikato region, Canterbury and Otago, we think we can reduce and save $3 million to $5 million by merging those entities and keeping the NPC teams, the Provincial Union, the Super Rugby clubs and one rugby delivery service in those areas.”
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Collins also said NZR wanted to maintain a broad spread of talent and ensure players outside formal academy pathways had opportunities to progress.
“I think in our system, the academies do work and they do produce a number of NPC players and Super Rugby players and All Blacks, but we also do have the late bloomers.”
He pointed to colleague Conrad Smith, who serves as a prime example and had previously alluded to the floor in the proposal.
“He never made age group representative teams coming through the mighty Francis Douglas Memorial College, and he never made an academy. He progressed to Wellington, the Hurricanes and the All Black through Club Rugby.
“It's really important that we make sure resources get to clubs to ensure that sort of club rugby can thrive because it is part of our pathway as well.”
Listen to the full interview below:
