Opinion - It's been a big week for NZ Rugby. The Silver Lake deal was agreed upon yesterday, about a year after it was supposed to be and almost four months since we were last told essentially the same announcement.
Eden Lizards celebrate their win against University Squids during the final of the U85 National rugby match, held at Eden Park in Auckland on 7 November 2020. Photo: Photosport / Brett Phibbs
In all that time, the conjecture surrounding the private equity firm's motives and ultimate legacy of the deal have swirled from the sports to the business pages while NZ Rugby (NZR) fought an often bitter battle to control the narrative.
But it wasn't all Silver Lake news. On Wednesday an NZR press release made its way out that, in the grand scheme of things, isn't in the same stratosphere as the big Silicon Valley money announcement.
It was announcing a curtain-raiser to the All Blacks v Argentina test on 3 September at FMG Stadium Waikato: the final of the National Under-85kg Club Cup. The Under 85kg grade is unpaid, played for by local clubs with players often making sacrifices from everyday life to participate in a grade known just as much for its commitment to old school off the field fraternising as the rugby itself.
However, these two stories from the polar opposite ends of the rugby news spectrum might just have more in common than first thought.
The Club Cup is now in its third year, having almost never made it to the start line thanks to Covid. Its first incarnation saw 19 teams, all from the North Island and mostly from Auckland and Wellington (where the grade has existed in senior men's club rugby for almost three decades now). This year, that figure has jumped to 47 - making it easily the most successful grassroots project NZR have undertaken in recent memory.
"We think it's a really important part of the community game," says the tournament's creator, NZR Participation Development Manager Mike Hester.
"It needs to be put on that platform, alongside the All Blacks, because we've proven that there's enough substance in the concept for it to be given that level of prestige."
The competition has achieved one of its aims so far, which is to grow it outside of the city unions. NZR Community Rugby Manager Steve Lancaster says that feels "really good."
"It's one of those things that we hoped would happen by raising the grade's visibility. It will help unions establish grades, we have five teams now from Canterbury and I'd love to think next year there might be proper under 85s competition down there."
The last two finals have been more than a decent product for TV, the first between the Eden Lizards and University Squids (both Auckland clubs) being a thriller at Eden Park.
Last year saw the Carisbrook Bush Pigs take on the Tukapa Bantams in Inglewood*. If you're picking up a trend, team names certainly take a turn for the more outrageous in Under 85s, with others like the Hairy Goats, Short Finned Eels and Fighting Leprechauns making up other spots in the draw.
Funny names and boat races aside, the Club Cup is very much being seen as the start of something bigger at the grassroots space. There have been rumblings about the potential of a national weight grade team at some stage, although just who they'd play is the major sticking point as senior weight grades don't exist in other countries - although the prospect of a Japanese side would seem reasonably viable.
That, of course, will require money. NZR is already funding Club Cup teams to travel for the latter stages of the competition, so the seeds have already been planted in terms of investment and this latest development, The Silver Lake deal, has been called 'transformational' and chairman Stewart Mitchell talked a big game about "investing in the right areas of the game".
This is, at least at first glance, why putting this fixture as a test match curtain raiser and maintaining it live on Sky is an important step in selling the idea that NZR's priorities go further than just the All Blacks - because really, this whole Silver Lake saga was sold to the average fan as being a solution to the many challenges that the grassroots game faces. Whether or not that happens remains to be seen, because it'll take a great deal more than money, but this at least shows that the will is there.
"Showing the connection between all the parts of the system is an opportunity we haven't taken in the past," Hester says.
"We have an integrated system, not like the examples around the world that pick the talent out of community sport and leave it to wither. For us, all parts need to flourish and we need to project that. This is a really good example of that connection."
Lancaster says that the curtain-raiser is "something they've been working on for a while now".
"We see a lot of potential in this competition and this is an amazing opportunity. We are talking to the All Blacks about activations during the week and the beauty is that it's a feel-good grade so there's a lot of good will there."
New Zealand Rugby yesterday cleared the final hurdle to sign a $200 million deal with US private equity firm Silver Lake. Photo: RNZ
When it comes to what effect the SIlver Lake deal will have on the competition, Lancaster was confident it would make progress more than just a 'nice to have'.
"Maybe there'll be less barriers around making things happen in the community game going forward. We don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves as they're only just ideas right now … but anything's possible. We need to get this competition finding its feet, the first two seasons have been heavily Covid-impacted but we're really optimistic that it's got real legs."
Lancaster stopped short of endorsing a suggestion that the winners of the Club Cup will be able to challenge the All Blacks to a boat race post match, however it's likely an attempt will be made to reach out at the very least. There are already connections, with World Cup winning coach Sir Graham Henry a driving force behind the competition getting off the ground, plus legends Sir Wayne Shelford and Stephen Donald involved in coaching teams. Current All Black Brad Weber has made no secret of his desire to play in the grade at some stage, too.
The National Under 85kg Club Cup enters another knockout round this weekend, with games in almost all major provincial unions. Even in ones where there is no weight grade competition, as clubs have contrived ways to put together teams made up of senior and Colts players. It is, to be fair, being run on a shoestring budget and a great deal of buy-in by the players and clubs involved.
On 3 September it will get its day in the sun, in a setting alongside the All Blacks that stalwarts of the grade over the years have never even dreamed of. Hopefully, whoever is making the calls at NZR about where to chuck some Silver Lake cash will be watching.
*The 2021 tournament was unable to include the usually powerful Auckland sides due to the lockdown at the time.