New Zealand players perform the haka following their win over England in the Cup final of the Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament
New Zealand players perform the haka following their win over England in the Cup final of the Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament Reuters

With hopes in keeping the game of rugby clean, the New Zealand Rugby Union is launching an anti-corruption drive the organization announced on Wednesday.

"We want rugby to remain an honest test of skill and ability. Our sport has a good record, but we can't take it for granted," declared Neil Sorensen the New Zealand Rugby Union’s general manager in a Yahoo Sports New Zealand article.

Sports corruption and match-fixing has plagued the world of sports recently and Sorensen was adamant that it was important that the sport of rugby needs to be protected.

"We've seen international examples of the damage that corruption can do to sport and we don't want to see that happen in rugby.”

Roughly 2000 members involved in New Zealand rugby—from players, coaches to managers were asked to sign a pledge to support the anti-corruption drive and by abiding with the new regulations.

One of which is that all involved are “banned from betting on rugby matches no matter where in the world they are played.”

This includes people who may be betting on behalf of the players, coaches or managers. If anyone is found guilty, the penalty is a lifetime ban from the game.