Departing NZR CEO reflects on his near six-year tenure at the helm

As another International season ends for the All Blacks and Black Ferns, a curtain closes on New Zealand Rugby CEO Mark Robinson’s tenure at the helm of the organisation, as he announced earlier this year that he would leave the role after 2025.

The company is yet to formally announce a replacement, with chairman David Kirk, and Community Rugby General Manager Steve Lancaster taking over some of the responsibilities in the meantime.

With the Black Ferns coming off a third-place finish in the Women’s Rugby World Cup in 2025, and the All Blacks winning ten out of thirteen Tests this year, Robinson reflects on a busy, and long year in charge of the organisation.

Speaking with Jason Pine on Newstalk ZB’s Weekend Sport radio show, Robinson says he’s at peace with the decision he made earlier this year.

“Oh, look, I think I was very at peace with it, at the time I put a bit of thought into it and my family were in Australia at the time, and it became a pretty clear decision for me back in, back in May or June,” Robinson told Pine on Newstalk ZB.

“I guess the other thing sitting on it, the couple of major work streams that I talked about at the time around the international calendar, which we’ve signed off all of the major competitions I was talking about, probably for the last few years, have come to fruition, which we’re extremely excited about.

“And the other thing was the sort of reset of the financial model in New Zealand, which we’re getting very close to as well. So all those things weighed up together, between the things we had left to tick off in my own mind, along with family and it’s great. I’m really looking forward to the next step.

Taking on the job during Covid-19 was never going to be an easy task, something which Robinson will remember as one of the hardest things he’s done in his career.

“It was by far the most challenging thing, I’ve done personally, and if you step back, it was probably the most challenging thing rugby has ever encountered, sport, for that matter.

“And then the whole sort of entertainment sports industry, as well as, for that matter, the country, so when you think about it, talking to a lot of colleagues in leadership roles at that time and over the last few years, there’s no doubt that it was by far one of the most challenging things to hit leaders.

“I don’t think people can appreciate the things we were sort of weighing up and having to consider on a daily basis across those two and a half years, and we’ve come out the other side of it, and I’m sure the new leadership coming into the role will very much be focused on going forward, but yeah it was a tough time.”

When looking at some of the positives from his tenure, the 51-year-old pinpoints some of the financial achievements as his fondest memories.

“There’s things on the international stage that both associated with our teams, but also, international colleagues around around the world, and working with them, we’ve driven growth and revenue across the six years, especially coming out of Covid-19.

“In the last three or four years, over $100 million growth in revenue per year. So some amazing partners we’ve got around the world, which we’re grateful for their support, but we’ve also made some incredible friendships.”

The departing CEO explains that he’s proud of how NZR has worked hard in and around the community game, with a focus on communities to make sure the grassroots game is strong.

“And I think the other thing we’ve tried really hard at, and got some success out of them, is the focus we’ve had on the fans and working really hard on our products and competition product, the players at community will work really hard at community and professional level to tailor a game that players can really engage in and want to be part of.”