Let’s start with a truth that’s not so comfortable to hear: Mark Robinson, the outgoing CEO of New Zealand Rugby, will not be missed.
Sure, he's a nice guy. Polite, affable, well-spoken. The sort of bloke you’d happily have a yarn with over a beer. I’ve met him, spoken with him, seen him in press boxes and pressers here and abroad. But that’s not the job, is it? Being liked isn’t the KPI when you’re tasked with running the most important sporting institution in New Zealand. The job is to protect, strengthen, and future-proof our national game, and on that count, Robinson’s tenure has been resoundingly mediocre.
Let’s be blunt. He leaves behind a game financially bleeding, structurally confused, and culturally adrift.
Earlier this year NZ Rugby revealed a loss of $19.5 million for 2024. That’s the fifth loss in Robinson’s six years. Let’s repeat that: five out of six years. The only spin attempted was his 'we’ve very nearly broken even' line - the sort of desperate optimism you'd expect from someone trying to sell you a leaky house in the rain.
Yes, income has increased , but so have expenses. Dramatically. In 2019, NZ Rugby spent $195 million. By 2023, that ballooned to $304 million. That’s nearly $110 million more.
What about that Silver Lake money? Where's it gone? Where’s the return? We were told this was the deal that would save rugby.
Then there is NZR+, sold as a bold digital step forward - a slick, content-rich rugby media machine that would bring in fans, dollars, and eyeballs. Instead, it's become a bloated side hustle that generates nothing. We still don’t know exactly how much it’s cost, and I can only assume it has cost A LOT.
The original target? Thirty million US subscribers. Thirty. Million. From where? The moon? This isn’t innovation, it’s delusion. And an expensive one.
Talk to any local rugby club here in New Zealand and they’ll tell you the same story: we’re dying. Kids aren’t signing up. Volunteers are exhausted. Facilities need improving. Yet while community rugby clings to life, NZ Rugby is spending $6 million a week, and it seems barely a cent of that is making it to the people holding up the foundations of the game.
This is how empires crumble: not with a bang, but a slow suffocation from the base up.
Robinson’s record isn’t just numbers. It’s leadership - or lack thereof. His handling of major decisions was consistently weak. The Ian Foster debacle? Mishandled from start to finish. Glen Moore? Endorsed, then thrown under the bus after two days of online heat. The Hurricanes Poua haka saga? Silence.
When the job demanded a backbone, we got buzzwords. When leadership was needed, we got absence.
Let’s not forget the infamous line: “The NPC is not fit for purpose.” Okay. Fine. Maybe it isn’t. But what’s the solution? None offered. Just another review. And another. And another.
Funny, he never said the same about women’s NPC or Super Rugby Aupiki. Neither seem to generate much revenue or crowds. Even the players admitted as much.
Yes, we should support women’s rugby. Yes, we should grow it. But throwing millions at a model that’s not working, without any commercial roadmap, isn’t strategy - it’s charity. And this isn’t a charity. It’s professional sport.
Robinson exits stage left, leaving behind a sport that is struggling in this country. More whiteboards, more buzzwords, more debt, less rugby. He was a nice guy, no doubt. But nice doesn’t grow the game. Nice doesn’t balance books. Nice doesn’t bring fans back to clubs.
Was he a good CEO? The answer is no.
Catch new episodes of the Devlin Sports Podcast Network (DSPN) every weekday on rova.
