Mark Robinson: NZ Rugby CEO on Christchurch hosting the Super Round in 2026

Officials are committing to just the one year of Super Round in Christchurch – for now. 

Christchurch's new stadium will play host to five Super Rugby games over Anzac weekend 2026. 

Super Round took a year out of the schedule this year after the Melbourne Rebels exited the competition. 

NZ Rugby CEO Mark Robinson told Mike Hosking it has always been on the radar to give back to a region that loves its rugby and has been a massive supporter of the game at many levels. 

He says they’re not ruling out the possibility of Christchurch hosting more rounds in the future. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
A little bit of a bill that they will come
as Super Rugby confirms that the new Christturch Stadium will
host around next year, around eleven three days from April
twenty four to twenty six, five games under the roof
Mark Robinson's and New Zeild Rugby CEO and as with us, Mark,
very good morning.

Speaker 2 (00:14):
To you morning Mike.

Speaker 1 (00:16):
It opens on the twentieth and you're kicking off on
the twenty fourth. How confident you're feeling about those numbers?

Speaker 2 (00:24):
Well, based on all the feedback we're getting out of Christchurch,
we're really confident. And I was down there a couple
of months ago and got a brief look through it
and it's looking fantastic. It's really an amazing facility and
a huge credit to all the people involved in it. So,
you know, I think it'll bring a massive amount of
excitement into the city and the region and obviously it

(00:45):
would be great for rugby as well.

Speaker 1 (00:46):
Are you maxing out the opportunity? It is a smallish stadium,
it's so I mean, if you did the same thing
you need in part you can get more people.

Speaker 2 (00:55):
Well, look, you know, we obviously acknowledge that christ Jich
has gone through incredibly challenging time responded amazingly well to
what happened after the earthquakes. So this has always been
on the radar for us to want to give back
to a region that you know, frankly loves it's rugby
and has been a massive supporter of rugby at many levels.
So so look, you know, we obviously considered other options here, Mike,

(01:18):
you know, in Australia in the Pacific, but we feel
this is you know, not only a great event that
at all levels stacks up, but it's awfully symbolic too,
given how christ Us is going now.

Speaker 1 (01:29):
Is it a one off in that case?

Speaker 2 (01:32):
No, Look, we wouldn't rule out possibility for the future
at all. I don't know if there's any detail around
those conversations yet, but we had to sketched through the
first one and see how that goes.

Speaker 1 (01:41):
How do you do the revenue for the people who
don't have a home game and have to go across
town or down country.

Speaker 2 (01:47):
I'll look at the compensation arrangements for that, Mike. So
that's all cleared up. Being set out in previous super
rounds in Melbourne are well understood by all the.

Speaker 1 (01:56):
Participants indeed, and it's just as funny because the league
is thinking about the goal coast in Vegas and stuff.
Is this kind of a thing for sports, So you
take it out and you take it to a place
and make it like a I don't know, a party,
a festival whatever.

Speaker 2 (02:09):
Yeah, I think it isn't that, you know, it's it's
proving really popular and arrange of different sports, and certainly,
you know, tourism entities that are proactive in our vision
for their region acknowledged that sport's an amazing platform to
do that. And you know, we're were hopefully you know,
we've gone out recently looking to what national team all

(02:31):
Blacks and black foodstucts will look like over the next
two to three years and hoping to see great responses
to that in the same Vein good stuff.

Speaker 1 (02:38):
Listen, while I've got you this Mulwanga thing, I count
for the work. All the people are angsty about it.
I can't work out what the problem is. So if
you're really good, you write your own ticket, don't you.
Isn't that how it works in the real world.

Speaker 2 (02:51):
Oh well, I haven't really you know, after we launched
the news obviously, I haven't really kept too close to
what people are saying. We're pleased, Richie's pleased, you know,
the all Blacks are pleased and being really clear around
what the arrangement is, and we think it's fantastic.

Speaker 1 (03:05):
And yeah, he's playing in Japan and he won't play
the same and it's all different and he shouldn't go
away and come back and come away, and you know,
it's just like, oh god.

Speaker 2 (03:14):
I just like, well, you know, I mean we've seen
we've seen loads of cases where that's been proven not
to be the case. And we know Richie's a really
in diligent athlete and he'll work really hard and get
back and get into formed pretty quickly. In fact, he's
an amazing form now. So you know, we're really pleased
with that.

Speaker 1 (03:29):
We'll move on, Mike Good two from two from Argentina.

Speaker 2 (03:34):
Look where I'm taking off tomorrow night and I'm looking
forward to getting over to see Argentinian friends. I mean,
it's been interesting watching them, hasn't it. They had a
great game against the Lions, but we're less impressive against
the English. But we know they're getting all the all
their players back. They'll be really tough. But hopefully we
get a couple of great performances.

Speaker 1 (03:48):
Good on you go, well, appreciate it very much. Mike Robinson,
who's the New Zealand Rugby CEO. Was there a definitive answer?
It wasn't really a definitive answer, wasn't It wasn't. If
I was the CEO of New Zealand Rugby and somebody
like Hoskin asked me a question two from two from Argentina,
I'd say something, well, of course, what else would you expect?
I mean, that's the answer you want.

Speaker 2 (04:05):
Isn't it?

Speaker 1 (04:06):
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