New Zealand Rugby (NZR) will put forward two governance reform proposals to its voting members at a Special General Meeting (SGM) at the end of May.

In August 2023, an independent review found NZR’s governance structure, along with the way the organisation appoints its board of directors, was not fit for purpose.

The first proposal would give effect to the recommendations made in last year’s Pilkington Review, while the second is an alternative model put forward by the provincial union chairs last month.

The proposal the unions have lodged is to restructure the NZR board to comprise nine independent directors, one of whom must have lived experience with te ao Māori in a complex organisational context, one of whom must identify as Pasifika, and at least three members in total to have had a minimum of two years’ experience serving on a provincial union board.

NZR chair Dame Patsy Reddy has vowed she will resign, should the initial proposal not be accepted.

Dame Patsy has also said should the Provincial Unions’ proposal be voted through, the entirety of NZR’s board may be forced to resign.

The NZR board has agreed to issue the formal notice of business next Wednesday May 8, with the SGM to take place three weeks later on Thursday May 30, in Wellington.

NZR’s constitution also requires the board to provide 12 weeks’ notice of an Annual General Meeting (AGM), therefore leaving an SGM as the best viable option.

The board has advised the AGM will be held on Friday July 26, which is the latest possible date under the constitution.

This article was originally published on the NZ Herald here.