Chair Dame Patsy Reddy has confirmed she'll resign if the NZ Rugby board reforms don't go through in line with her proposals.

NZR's newly released proposal suggests nine independent board members for NZR's future boards.

However, the provincial unions want three board members to have had board-level experience at a provincial level.

Dame Patsy Reddy says a 'world-leading' governance structure is needed to ensure the continued success of NZ Rugby.

"We've been leading the rugby world for 135 years, but we need to have world-leading governance to remain ahead of the game. And a world-leading governance structure does not have a representational model."

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