Sir Graham Henry has questioned whether Super Rugby Pacific is strong enough to produce world-class All Blacks, calling the competition “weak” and urging New Zealand Rugby to consider a radical restructure.
Speaking on the DSPN podcast alongside former NZR chairman Brent Impey, the 2011 World Cup-winning coach said he was impressed by the depth of players available to All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie but concerned that the competition they are developing in is not up to standard.
“I don’t think the competition is sufficiently strong enough,” Henry said. “I think Super Rugby needs to be looked at very seriously and see how we can improve that because I don’t think it’s a foundation for producing a world-class international team.”
Henry acknowledged that New Zealand has “more depth now than we’ve had for a long time” and said he has been “very surprised and very pleased” at what the current Super Rugby Pacific teams are producing. But he was blunt in his assessment of where the competition sits relative to the demands of test rugby.
“We’re isolated and we’re isolated geographically anyway and we’re getting isolated rugby-wise,” he said. “Rugby played below international level — we’ve got very little international exposure. We play Australia, who are reasonably weak, to be fair. And so we’re not getting the competition we require, I don’t think, to be the best in the world.”
The former All Blacks coach went further, floating a significant restructure of domestic rugby that would see the NPC effectively replaced by an expanded Super Rugby competition. His proposal: 10 New Zealand-based sides, plus standalone Pacific Island teams for Fiji, Samoa and Tonga — rather than the combined Moana Pasifika model, which has since confirmed its departure from the competition at the end of this season — alongside four Australian teams, making a 16-team competition.
“Spread that competition to maybe 10 New Zealand sides — Fiji, Samoa, Tonga as opposed to Moana Pasifika — and four Australian teams. Sixteen teams,” Henry said. “Then you’ve got something that’s going to develop our players.”
The proposal would represent a dramatic shift in the structure of professional rugby in New Zealand, effectively merging the NPC and Super Rugby tiers. Henry argued it would create more opportunities for young players who are currently falling through the cracks between levels.
Impey, who served as NZR chairman from 2014 to 2021, offered a counterpoint on the economic realities. He revealed that during his tenure, NZR’s revenue and costs both grew from $100 million to $260 million, and warned that weakening the competition by allowing top players to leave would reduce broadcast revenue from Sky.
“If you start weakening the competition by allowing top New Zealand players not to play in that competition, you’re going to get less money from Sky and down you go,” Impey said.
However, Impey agreed with Henry on a critical underlying issue: young players are not getting enough game time. He pointed to the case of Harry Inch, a highly regarded Nelson College graduate who was in the Crusaders training squad but switched to the Warriors because he was not playing.
“One of the critical issues for me is within the ecosystem where we do not have enough rugby for those younger players who are coming through to actually play,” Impey said.
Henry was unequivocal about the need for change, warning that maintaining the status quo would see New Zealand slide further down the world rankings.
“If we continue to do what we’re doing, we’re going to keep on getting a little bit worse,” he said. “It’s all very well for people to stand there and say we can’t afford it. But if we don’t change, we are not going to achieve what we’ve been doing for the last 100 years.”
The comments come during a Super Rugby Pacific season in which the New Zealand franchises have largely dominated, with the Hurricanes in particular drawing praise for their attacking rugby. Henry himself lauded the Hurricanes’ approach but argued that strong franchise performances do not necessarily translate to international readiness when the competition base is not demanding enough.
It is a debate that will only intensify as New Zealand prepares for a test series in South Africa later this year and a Rugby World Cup in 2027.
Sir Graham Henry and Brent Impey were speaking on the DSPN podcast. The full episode is available on YouTube.
