They say it’s the most powerful job in the country after the Prime Minister: running New Zealand Rugby.

For 12 years, Steve Tew has been that guy as the CEO of the Rugby Union. Today, he’s announced he’s quitting.

In his time, he’s copped a fair bit of criticism for the way he’s run the place. He’s been accused of being too aggressive in the office. During his tenure, NZR has been criticised for tolerating heavy drinking, degrading attitudes towards women, and for protecting rugby players from the consequences of their own behaviour.

And, under him, the Super Rugby competition has been allowed to grow so big and drag on so long that even the most loyal fans are losing interest.

Some of the criticism is fair, but in 12 years, everyone will make mistakes.  And to dwell on those mistakes would be to overlook how much Tew has done right, and he has done plenty right during a challenging time for New Zealand rugby.

We never have enough money, not compared to some other clubs and countries, and they are prepared to spend a lot of that money to buy our best players.

Yet, Tew and his team have, against the odds, retained some key players. Take Sam Whitelock for example: he was ready to walk until the NZRU bent the rules for him so he could take a lucrative contract in Japan, and then come home. That’s a success.

It’s under Tew that NZRU secured sponsorship deals worth tens of millions of dollars for the game. Sire, it meant the All Blacks jersey changed forever – AIG got to slap its logo across the front of our players – but they paid big bucks for that privilege, and that was money NZRU desperately needed.

What about grassroots rugby?  Under Tew, NZRU pumped in an extra $11 million a year in 2016 into provincial rugby,  settling at least some concerns about grassroots funding.

And under Tew, our teams have filled the trophy cabinet. Right now, New Zealand holds the trophy for all four rugby world cups: both the mens’ and women’s, and for both sevens and fifteens teams.

It won’t have been easy, because there’s never cash to compete with the world, but despite that, Tew has done a good job being the second most powerful person in the country, don’t you think?