New Zealand Rugby's affiliate bodies voted 84-8 in favor of "constitutional changes which will promote diversity," according to Ben Strang of STUFF. The changes will see a new make-up of the New Zealand Rugby board, with the number of appointed members "rising from three to six." Three members of the board will be appointed by the Appointments & Remuneration Committee, with a view toward "appointing people with a more diverse set of skills in life and business." At least one woman will be part of the Appointments & Remuneration Committee "from now on." NZR Chair Brent Impey said that the changes "were sparked by a horrid" '16 for the union, which had to "deal with multiple off field issues." Chief among them "was the stripper scandal which embroiled the Chiefs Super Rugby franchise, as the game's respect for women came under scrutiny" (STUFF, 10/18). The NEW ZEALAND HERALD reported currently six of the nine members of the NZR board are "directly elected by Affiliated Provincial Unions." Under the changes, PUs "will now directly elect only three members to the Board and nominate a further three, including the Maori Representative." The committee will "apply an updated range of skills and competency criteria which will seek to ensure a greater skill mix is achieved on the board." Impey said, "This is a major step forward in ensuring best practice governance processes are applied at the board level. The changes should lead to a wider range of board candidates with a greater range of skills and experiences represented at the top table in the future. ... Our recent Respect and Responsibility report identified the need for more diverse leadership at all levels of rugby, which is another criteria we need to consider" (NZ HERALD, 10/18).