Patterson: decision on the Makos has to last

Tasman chairman Nick Patterson is "cautiously optimistic" about news of a likely backdown by the New Zealand Rugby Union on its imminent decision on whether to cull four teams from next year's premier domestic competition.

Mr Patterson was reacting to reports at the weekend that the NZRU board now looks almost certain to reverse its decision to cut the Air New Zealand Cup competition from 14 to 10 teams.

Tasman are one of the four unions expected to be cut and the final decision will be made on Thursday.

NZRU chairman Jock Hobbs has now indicated that the board would reconsider its decision if his executive team had been unsuccessful in meeting various requirements to ensure the changes were in the best interests of the game.

That included signing a new collective agreement with the New Zealand Players' Association, which has not been done.

There's also major doubt about whether the NZRU has created a meaningful division-one competition in which the four culled teams and two Heartland championship teams were to play.

Mr Patterson was aware of the speculation and although heartened by it, remained wary about reading too much into it until the decision was made.

"It's [a feeling of] cautious optimism, I guess," he said.

"We have heard that there is some discussion that they're reviewing the 14-team decision and yeah, we'd be very hopeful that they make the right decision and that is, of course, to continue as we are.

"And I hope that when they make the decision, they also give some longevity to it, rather than telling us that this is until after the World Cup or to the World Cup or for 2010. I think that from Tasman's point of view, we need some longevity to the decision and that's going to be pretty important to us."

Mr Patterson said that any backdown by the NZRU would be a just reward for the Tasman players and sponsors who had remained loyal to the Tasman union despite all the controversy and uncertainty.

"They've made the commitment and stuck by us and said that they wanted to continue to play for the Makos and I'm hopeful now that we'll be able to give them the opportunity to do that. Also we're very pleased for our sponsors who have supported us ... and hoping that we can renew those arrangements and go forward from here.

"There does seem to be some revisiting of some of the issues around it all and that's really all we can hope for. And I hope [the NZRU] make a clear and unequivocal decision this week.

- © Fairfax NZ News