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New Zealand Rugby chief executive Steve Tew to step down after 12-year tenure

By Online Editors
New Zealand Rugby boss Steve Tew. (Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images)

New Zealand Rugby [NZR] chief executive Steve Tew has today announced he will stand down from his role at the end of this year.

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His departure will bring the curtain down on a 25-year long career in rugby administration, including the last 12 years as NZR CEO.  Tew has worked at New Zealand Rugby since 2001 and will leave in December.

“After much reflection, I’ve decided that this is the best time for me to make way for someone else to lead New Zealand Rugby into the future and a new phase for our national game,” Tew said.

“There are new and exciting changes coming as a result of the upcoming, new international calendar; a changing broadcast environment; as well as a new All Blacks head coach to be appointed; so it’s the right time for me.

“I’ve always been a great advocate for challenging convention and keeping New Zealand Rugby fresh and invigorated, whilst always encouraging our people to grow and extend themselves. I believe the time is right for someone else to lead the organisation.

“It has been a great privilege to hold this position and I’m grateful for every day that I have experienced. My wife, Michele, and I have been talking for some time about the best time for us to move on to some new challenges. Our Chair Brent Impey and I also discussed when the best time would be to introduce some new blood and new leadership, to keep New Zealand Rugby at the top of our game.

“I’ve not made this decision lightly – it’s a job I love and I consider it an absolute privilege – but it is for those reasons, that I believe the time is right to step down.

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“I am immensely grateful to the board for their ongoing support. I also want to pay particular thanks to New Zealand Rugby’s staff.  They are an incredibly hard-working, passionate group of people and it has been an absolute pleasure and privilege leading them.

“I also want to acknowledge the huge number of people from our commercial partners, provincial unions, Super clubs and other rugby organisations, our players, World Rugby and other international unions, for their support and friendship.

“I’ve made many lifelong friends through this game and it is comforting to know that so many, very good people are committed to rugby and making it a truly great, global game for all.

“I have been very fortunate to have worked with incredibly special leaders of the Board, including the late Jock Hobbs, Mike Eagle and Brent, and countless colleagues here at New Zealand Rugby.

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“My greatest gratitude and thanks go to my wife Michele and our daughters, Ruby Maddy and Lily, and extended family and friends. It goes without saying that their support and love have allowed me to give my best to this role.
“I’m excited to be looking at new opportunities, and I hope to still be able to contribute to rugby in some way.

“But for now, this year’s priorities will be the Rugby World Cup in Japan, confirmation of our competition structures, completion of the sale of our broadcast content and to ensure a smooth transition for my replacement.  Then it will be time to leave and share some time and a classic or two with my family and friends.

NZR chairman Brent Impey paid tribute to Steve Tew, describing him as “one of the most influential figures in international rugby”.

“He has enhanced New Zealand’s reputation on the world stage, overseen incredible successes from our teams in black over the years and also led a team that has significantly grown the global profiles of those teams.

“I think it says a lot about Steve’s character that while we both consider he still has much to contribute to the organisation, and in fact World Rugby, he has taken an unselfish look at what is best for the game in New Zealand.

“Under Steve’s stewardship, New Zealand Rugby holds all four Rugby World Cups for both men’s and women’s Fifteens and Sevens teams, which is a remarkable achievement.

“Steve and I have worked closely over these last five years in our respective roles as chair and chief executive. I have enormous respect for his leadership, vision, philosophy and people management.

“He is, without doubt, an outstanding chief executive for New Zealand Rugby. He combines many skills including a passion for the game, respected leadership throughout the world, and driving the organisation to over-achieve in many respects.

“While our teams have excelled on the field, Steve has led the way, off it, including advocating for greater respect and inclusion, the introduction of The Rugby Way, and the substantial increase in revenue during his tenure, which was more than double.

“He has overseen the negotiation of many of our major commercial deals which underpin the funding of the game in New Zealand and has the respect of all our stakeholders, whether they are commercial partners, governments or within the rugby community in New Zealand and around the world.

“He will have an ongoing role as a director of Rugby World Cup, and we expect to see him involved with the development of rugby in our Asia-Pacific and North America regions.

“With the international rugby landscape set to change, the recruitment process for a new head coach of the All Blacks underway, two teams preparing for Olympic Games, and preparation for New Zealand to host the Women’s Rugby World Cup, it is an exciting time for New Zealand Rugby.

“We will immediately begin our search for a new chief executive, and Steve has kindly agreed to stay on until a replacement has been found and settled in.

“I want to thank Steve for his extraordinary leadership of rugby both in New Zealand and on the international stage.  My hope is that his skills will not be lost to rugby altogether,” Impey said.

All Blacks head coach Steve Hansen said: “Firstly, I’d like to acknowledge what a fantastic contribution ‘Tewy’ has made to the game of rugby in New Zealand and globally, first with Canterbury and the Crusaders, and latterly with New Zealand Rugby and World Rugby.

“I don’t think there has been a better sporting CEO in New Zealand sport, especially given the immense scrutiny and expectation he had in his role at New Zealand Rugby.

“On behalf of the All Blacks, I’d like to thank him for his unwavering support for the team and management.  It’s no coincidence that his time in the job has coincided with one of the most successful periods of All Blacks rugby.  He’ll be sadly missed by the entire team, who have always enjoyed his company, support and passion.

“Personally, I’d like to thank him for all the support and wisdom he has given me throughout a very long association.  He gave me my first job as director of the Canterbury Rugby Academy and then various coaching roles following on from that.  But he’s been much more than just a great boss – he’s been a very supportive friend – and I’m immensely proud to call him a mate.

“Finally, I’d like to wish Steve, Michele and their girls all the very best for the future.  When it’s all over, I look forward to sharing a quiet beer or two and reflecting on all the wonderful achievements in his career.”

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Jon 38 minutes ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

32 Go to comments
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john 3 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

15 Go to comments
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Adrian 5 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

15 Go to comments
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Trevor 7 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

21 Go to comments
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