WELLINGTON: Former skipper David Kirk has warned the All Blacks’ planned private equity deal with US investors is a “slippery slope” that could see the legendary rugby team sold out to commercial interests.
Kirk, who led the All Blacks to their first Rugby World Cup title in 1987, is now chairman of New Zealand’s Rugby Players’ Association, which opposes the deal in its current form and has offered an alternative.
He told AFP that fans needed to understand the long-term risks of the proposed tie-up between New Zealand Rugby and California-based investment firm Silver Lake Partners.
“I think it’s probably the biggest change for New Zealand rugby since professionalism,” he said.
“And quite possibly, depending on what happens in the future,…
