The New Zealand Rugby's Union's chief executive Steve Tew says the failure of England's Bill Beaumont to unseat the IRB chairman Bernard Lapasset won't slow calls for change.
The NZRU had backed Beaumont after Tew complained during the World Cup that the way the IRB's distributes event revenue meant they lost money by competing.
Beaumont also lost his position of vice-chairman to South Africa's Oregan Hoskins but he's a member of the executive committee, as is former All Black captain Graham Mourie.
Tew says the close voting reflects an element of disquiet but there's no animosity towards Lapasset.
He says the NZRU board was honest with Lapasset about the intention to vote for Beaumont but now that it's done he'll have their full support.
And Tew says Graham Mourie , the top polling candidate for the executive, is a good advocate for the causes the NZRU considers important.