NZRU officials were in Dunedin yesterday meeting Highlanders players and officials to discuss corruption and gambling issues as the union starts to develop a framework to make sure the game is clean.
The union announced earlier this month it was setting up an integrity unit to help clean up the game.
NZRU general manager professional rugby Neil Sorensen and NZRU legal counsel Keith Binnie spoke to players and management yesterday in the first discussion of five which they will have with the five New Zealand franchises in the next three weeks.
Sorensen said it had been a lively discussion with players.
''We briefed them on what they can or can't do. As far as we are concerned nothing has happened so far to cause us any worry but we just want to be as clean as possible.''
Sorensen said.
Sorensen said the NZRU had decided professional players could not bet on any rugby game, no matter what or where it was, or whether or not they were involved.
''You could ask why someone like Ben Smith cannot bet on a game such as England against Scotland when he is not involved at all. Or why Neil Sorensen cannot bet on England-Scotland.
''But where do you stop it? Once you start going down that road and letting them bet on games then where does it end?''
Sorensen said once a game was televised then it could be seen all over the world.
Betting on the sub-continent was rife and they had influences which were able to go a long way.
Not only were players not able to bet on rugby games but they were also told they could not pass on any information.
So if one player knew about injuries for a forthcoming game then he had to keep that information to himself.
Players would still be able to bet on other sports.
Sorensen said the NZRU had an agreement that if players had a TAB account it would be monitored by the TAB to see the player was not breaking any rules.
Not only would players be banned from betting on rugby but it would also involve coaches and other administrators of professional rugby.
He estimated about 2000 people around New Zealand would be banned from betting on rugby by the union.
The talk yesterday with the Highlanders covered gambling only and issues such as drugs and alcohol would be discussed later.
A survey which had yet to be finalised and anecdotal evidence suggested the union did not have a problem with prescription drugs.
Sorensen said the union wanted to get its integrity unit operational within the next three months.
No new staff would be hired and resources from within the union would be used to operate it.
