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Live sport on SN this weekend‘No idea is a bad idea’: Lancaster reflects on NZR summit
Sport Nation • September 25th, 2026 11:17 am
New Zealand Rugby chief executive Steve Lancaster | Photo: Andrew Cornaga/Photosport
New Zealand Rugby CEO Steve Lancaster believes “no idea is a bad idea,” after around 80 stakeholders met in Wellington on Thursday to discuss possible changes to the game’s structure.
The summit came as 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.
Lancaster said all three proposals were discussed, but no decisions were made.
“What we did yesterday was we talked to and about those three options and what will come out of those conversations is that those three will change,” he told Sport Nation on Friday.
“Over time, over the next several months, one of those options will emerge as the preferred option.”
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He said there was a shared recognition that big changes were needed.
“The one thing I reflected on coming out of yesterday was the attitude that everyone brought to the day.
“There were no entrenched positions. There was no one-upmanship. Everybody recognises that for the game to continue to thrive into the future, we do need to make some changes.
“And now's the time to do it when the game's in good heart, rather than when we are in a crisis, which we're absolutely not.”
He shared NZR has been gathering suggestions from its members since its annual general meeting in May.
“In fact, since our AGM in May, we started the conversation with our members that we need to have a look at this. So we've been receiving and distilling a lot of suggestions, a lot of ideas and we synthesised those into three options that we discussed yesterday.
“So yesterday was a problem-solving session, really, and we had a lot of good conversation.”
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He shared that the group never intended to come to a decision on Thursday.
“We've got time as I say, we're not under any pressure.
“We want to get it right so that whatever we put in place gives us a foundation for the next cycle of our business and our game.”
He said growing revenue was important so NZR can increase player payments that will eventually feed back into the game.
“We want to pay our players more, actually, if we can, and that's why we're so intent on growing revenue, because what we're able to pay the players is pegged to our revenue.
“Our entire business is built on the success of the All Blacks and the Black Ferns on the world stage, on the success and appeal of our professional competitions, and they are nothing without our players.
“We need to have rugby remain our national sport and that's driven by the success of our teams in black,” he explained.
“Now if the teams in black have a period where they're not successful, we can sustain that because we have a long, historic record of success. What we can't have is a gradual and unstoppable decline in performance.”
Listen to the full interview below:
