The satisfaction that former Black Fern Melodie Robinson derived from receiving the Kirk Award from the NZRPA for services to rugby at the end of last year was threefold.

First, David Kirk is something of a hero; second, it was recognition from her peers; and third, she didn’t even know she was nominated.

Yet, the award was anything but surprising. Robinson does the mahi: she is TVNZ’s general manager, sport and events, sits on World Rugby’s Rugby World Cup board for the women’s tournament that will be held in New Zealand this year, and is heavily involved in the community game at club and school level.

It’s a heavy commitment for the mother of two boys (Jensen, 12, and Freddie,11) but the 48-year-old tells Stuff she wouldn’t have it any other way. “I would say rugby changed my life,” she says. “It still has a huge impact on me in a positive way. I want my kids and other people's kids to be able to experience all the fantastic things I have.”

Those roles have also given Robinson insights into what is working for the national sport, and what is not. In a wide-ranging interview she worries that at the schoolboy level it is too serious, and not enough fun – a concern for participation rates.

But, for women’s rugby, she conveys a sense of enormous potential that is about to be unlocked.

”You look at the overall market that rugby is in,” Robinson says. “So, if you look at your business and you think, ‘Where are the areas we can continue to grow’? One of them is the smaller markets, the developing nations, and the other area that has been identified by World Rugby, is women's rugby.

”There is a massive growth potential. We've already seen the numbers, the participants increase hugely over the last few years. And it’s untapped commercially, that's the most exciting thing about it.”

Here, Robinson outlines the two key factors – broadcast and sponsorship: the first of which is particularly significant.

“Typically, if we go to Rugby World Cup Limited level, World Cups – women's World Cups – were sold in a package alongside the men’s, which means you have no monetary value attributed to them,” she says. “Now they're going to be separated out [after this year], which is great news, because then they can sell them and actually generate more revenue.”

Clearly, that change has the potential to turbocharge the women’s game – second-class citizens no more.

The corporate world is also waking up to the possibilities. “Firstly, the Black Ferns do bring in sponsorship revenue, they have revenue,” Robinson says. “They’ve shown the potential to increase that revenue even more.

“And the great thing about the Black Ferns in particular, is that they're really interesting people...they bring a lot of interesting stories with them. So they're really deep, wonderful properties to sponsor. And we know that ASB, for instance, has had some wonderful experiences with them, bringing them in to the business and sharing their resilience stories. So they're really attractive commercial product, they just need to be sold separately, in a different way.”

That separation from the men’s game should also give the women’s game the chance to innovate, Robinson says, with an eye firmly on the game day experience.

She admires the way the Highlanders tap into Dunedin’s student population to turn Super Rugby games into events rather than just fixtures on a list, and believes the Rugby World Cup will deliver something similar, with bands, food and kapa haka planned to make the games something of a celebration.

“We're right now at the tipping point because we're starting to get the investment, and World Rugby is setting up a global women's rugby competition, post this World Cup, and then we're going to see more sponsorship and more broadcast rights, cash into the system,” Robinson says. “And then you'll really see where women's rugby is compared to men’s.”

If the future of the game is female, then female leaders will be needed. Robinson, a huge advocate for diversity in media and sport, says that progress is slowly being made at board level in Aotearoa, but that comes with a big caveat.

”It's the CEO level where there's a massive gap,” she says. “So, I hope that is someone somewhere in New Zealand, or a few of us that, would love to strive towards being a CEO of one of the big unions, or even New Zealand Rugby.”

In typical New Zealand fashion, Robinson is reticent to talk about her own ambitions in this area. There’s another reason, too.

”It is very hard to put your head above the crowd at times,” she says. “It’s a Kiwi thing and then add to that I’m Māori and there’s a concept called whakamā in Māoridom, and it’s about being humble. So I've got double the inclination not to talk about personal ambitions.”

Yet, Stuff gently presses Robinson. She has shattered glass ceilings throughout her career, and the MBA she completed at the University of Auckland points to an aspirational mindset. Would she, in time, put her hand up for the chief executive role at NZ Rugby, or another high-profile position?

“That is a very personal question,” she says in good humour. “Look, I actually I've been thinking about what’s next, because you should do. Even though I've only been at TVNZ for three years, you always have to have a plan going forward. So, what I can say is that I've put a few things down, which would hopefully give me the practical commercial skillset to put my name forward for a position one day.”

That would shake up the game, which has previously had to fend off accusations it is pale, stale and male.

Article added: Friday 28 January 2022 - from stuff.co.nz by Paul Cully 23 Jan 2022