Provincial unions say the Players' Association is trying to bully them into accepting New Zealand Rugby's proposed governance reforms.
The Players' Association (NZRPA) is threatening to split from the NZR and set up a new body to oversee the professional game if changes recommended by an independent review last year are not adopted at a special general meeting on 30th of May.
The game's stakeholders will vote on a new leadership structure next week.
The first proposal, put forward by RNZ chair Dame Patsy Reddy, calls on all board members to be independent, as advised by last year's governance review, The Pilkington Report, and to follow the report's findings to be completely taken over.
But some provincial associations have drawn up a different plan (proposal two), requiring at least three of the nine members to have two years of experience on one of their boards.
The Players Association, led by Rob Nichol, is strongly against this.
“If proposal two is passed, or if the status quo prevails, the professional players will no longer transfer the right to govern the professional game to the NZRU through a collective bargaining agreement,” NZRPA said in a letter to the media.
Nichol told RNZ that the provincial union model would mean that “the provincial unions will control, through various means, the actual process of appointing the board and therefore the board”.
However, Wellington Rugby chairman Russell Poole said claims that the PUs' proposal does not comply with the principles of the independent report are untrue.
“We have openly accepted the ideal of an independently selected, appointed board. So anything that says otherwise is absolutely untrue and that's the worst part of yesterday's NZRPA document – there are so many lies in it, so many things that are true. factually incorrect.
“There is no difference between proposal one and proposal two in terms of how people are chosen and the process they go through.
'The difference is that in proposal two the provincial associations have a rule that says three members of the NZR board must have spent some time on a provincial rugby board at any time.
“Given that one of the roles of that NZR board is to look after the game on behalf of the 150,000 participants, and that's just the players, not the infrastructure and other people that revolve around that, I don't think that's unfair is. .”
Nichol and the NZRPA believe the game is struggling in this country and told RNZ the provincial unions' proposal was unacceptable.
“We all accepted the report, we all accepted the findings that the governance model was not fit for purpose. To get to this stage and then turn around and say 'No, we just want to maintain the status quo' – we can't afford to do that.
“The game is in trouble, it needs support, it needs help, it needs expertise and we need an independent board.”
Poole said the PUs had tried to speak to the NZRPA about their concerns.
“We have worked very hard to negotiate in good faith with everyone. We have spoken extensively with the NZR board, the Māori rugby board and with Pasifika. We have attempted to engage with the NZRPA but were unsuccessful .
“It's just a shame that the NZRPA has taken an inflammatory position for a constitutional, democratic vote that should take place on the 30th.”
Poole described the Players' Association's threat to part ways with NZR if governance reforms do not go ahead as unnecessary and futile.
“Irresponsible is one word that comes to mind. Unnecessary is another word. It smacks of, 'If I don't get my way, I'll take my toys, my bat and my ball and go somewhere else.'
“It is an unnecessary reaction and in our view an overaction.”
The NZR board, led by Dame Patsy, is committed to submitting one proposal, with Reddy previously saying she would resign if the plan was not accepted at next week's special meeting.
Although not certain, Poole believes the PUs' proposal will prove more popular at the meeting.
“Early indications are that proposal two has sufficient support. But proposal one goes up first and there will be some unions that will choose to vote yes/yes.
“They will vote yes on proposal one and if that doesn't pass, they will vote yes on proposal two because they don't want the status quo.
“So quietly confident, but many politicians have said that in the run-up to the election and failed to deliver.”
The governance review was conducted in December 2022 after NZR secured a $200 million cash injection by selling a stake in its commercial operations to US private equity firm Silver Lake.
According to the Pilkington Report, NZR's leadership structure in the modern era was not fit for purpose.
– additional reporting by Reuters