Sir John Kirwan
New Zealand Rugby has been forced to mediate a dispute between the Auckland Rugby Union and private owners for control of the Blues.
The Super Rugby franchise has been divided for the last fortnight due to a disagreement over whether to retain Blues coach John Kirwan or look for a replacement next season.
New Zealand Rugby released a statement from chief executive Steve Tew on Sunday explaining that he has been forced to try and resolve the issue.
“New Zealand Rugby confirms that it has been involved in discussions with the Blues shareholders,” the statement read.
“As a consequence it is apparent there are some relationship issues amongst shareholders and we have offered to mediate. We hope all parties will accept this offer so we can together resolve this issue. Because we are in the middle of discussions, we are unable to comment further at this time,” he added.
There has been tension for some time between the 2 stakeholders over which of them has control of the franchise, and Tew was apparently asked to step in by the private investors.
With former referee Glenn Wahlstrom and ex-Auckland coach Maurice Trapp having recently resigned from the board to take up positions with NZRU Brian Wilsher and Greg Edmonds were appointed as Auckland rugby’s 2 new directors on the 6-man board.
They are understood to have opposed reappointing Kirwan – and both parties involved in the franchise must agree to pass any decision on Kirwan’s future which has led to the current impasse.
The Blues last won the Super Rugby title in 2003 and have struggled this season under Kirwan, winning just 3 of their 13 games thus far to sit in 13th place on the standings.
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